When we were young, we literally did everything together. Either I was at your house or you were at mine. Both of our parents were divorced, which allowed for so many options of places to stay on the weekends. Regardless where we were, we always had the best of times together. We never got bored and it was always an adventure.
You were tall and I was short. You were shy and I was outgoing. You had a sister and I had a brother. You had dark hair and I had blonde hair. Your hair was straight and mine was curly. I liked to dress up and you didn’t. We may have been opposites, but you were my best friend, and there was never a dull moment.
I couldn’t imagine life without you. We told each other everything, including every little secret and every little thing about our lives. I don’t think there was anything we didn’t know about each other. If we weren’t at school, we were together, no questions asked. Whether we were at my aunt’s, your grandmother’s, our mom’s or our dad’s place, it was inevitable that we were together. Everyone else even knew we were always together because if we weren’t, people would always ask me where you were. For the holidays, I even had to make it to your family’s gatherings. Your grandmother’s house was just another one added to the many places that I had to go.
As we got older, I got a job. We both entered the wonderful world of dating, so we started spending less and less time together. I eventually moved away and we slowly lost touch. Unfortunately, it seems as we got older, we outgrew each other. It was sad and it hurt, but that was the reality of it.
It was really hard on me at first. I tried for a long time to hold on and keep the friendship going, but the powers of the universe had something different in mind. It was during the process of losing you as my best friend that I learned one of life’s most valuable lessons: letting go. This is one of the hardest lessons, but it is something that we all must learn.
Throughout our entire life, we will have plenty of people come and go. Some are meant to stay only for a short while. Some are only meant to be around for a chapter or several chapters. Not everyone is meant for the whole story, and I have accepted that. You were the first person that I cared about who I was forced to let go, and that’s okay.
What I have realized is, regardless how much someone may mean to us, if their life doesn’t line up with ours, then we must let them go. It may hurt, but it is necessary for growth and for change. Once someone has taught us the things we need to know, their time is done and we have to keep moving forward. I have found this to be true for all types of relationships, not just friendships. We have a journey and a destination to complete in life and we can’t let anyone hold us back.
But the good part is we will meet new people. We will make new friends and we will grow to care about them just as much. The new people will line up with our lives. They may be meant to stay and they may not. The important thing is that we enjoy them while we have them.
Even though I haven’t seen you in almost ten years, I still care about you. You were my best friend for eleven years. I will always care about you and I will always think of you. I will always secretly keep tabs on your Facebook and Instagram just to make sure that you are okay.
Even though we don’t speak any longer, I just want you to know that if you ever needed anything, and I mean anything at all, I would still be just a phone call or a text away. Life may have separated us and we may have different paths, but please just remember one thing. Regardless where life takes me, regardless how far away I am, if you need anything at all, I will still always be there for you.
