When I visited Mr. Dawson in the hospital, I expected silence—but instead, I found him grading papers, hands trembling with exhaustion.
“Sir… why?” I asked.
“Deadlines don’t wait. Neither should you,” he muttered.
He admitted tomorrow was never promised and handed me an envelope with my name on it—one of many he’d written for his students. He also confessed a regret: he had always wanted to be a writer but never finished anything. “Promise me you won’t waste time like I did.” I promised.
That weekend, he passed away. In class, we sat stunned as the principal told us. That night, I opened my letter. In shaky handwriting, he wrote that he believed in me and urged: “Don’t wait for tomorrow. Finish what you start. Make me proud.”
Weeks later, we learned he had saved quietly for years, leaving each of us a small scholarship. Even in death, he was still teaching us.
I kept my promise—writing, finishing my first manuscript before graduation, and later publishing a book dedicated to him. Mr. Dawson may not have become the writer he dreamed of, but through his students, his story lives on.
So don’t wait. Start today. Finish something. Because life doesn’t wait, and neither should you.
