To the friends I made freshman year,
I'm not saying you're obligated to prioritize your time for me. I'm not that special. But, if I've made it clear to you that you were a big part of my experience at Penn State, then I'd hope you feel the same way.
How did our friendship go from a "Hey, bro, let's hang out" to a "Hi" and "Bye" basis? How did we go from meaningful conversations to not even speaking at all? Even our social media platforms say so much. You have your new friend groups and I have my circle. I, at least, make the effort to rekindle the chemistry that brought us together in the first place.
I've heard the excuses, some I considered quite reasonable.
For instance, the "I've been so busy with work" or "My major's been killing me" lines are understandable. I get that. I respect that. But, that's incomparable to the "You don't ever hit me up" excuses you throw around me.
You may think I sound bitter, but to me, I feel I have a right to be disappointed. It shows me that perhaps you weren't invested enough. Maybe, to me, you were a friend of mine. To you, I was an associate. An acquaintance.
Maybe I was someone you could be around for your own benefit.
To be fair, I understand. Everyone, even my parents say, some people leave your life for a reason. I know my circle got smaller and smaller by the year. I also know that half of the friends I've made lived in the same hall with me. Most of you were close by, still unsure of who you were and testing the waters.
But your distance and your ignorance made me anxious. Did I do something wrong? Was it something that I said? Did I fit in your circle? Maybe it's because I don't go to parties enough or do the things you do.
I don't like to cut others out of my life unless I have a good reason to. My birthday passed and well, you still didn't hit me up. A single "Hi" or "What's up?" would mean more than you leaving me on "read."
I know this: if you haven't managed to catch up with me this entire sophomore year, I won't even try to next semester.
You were in my life for a moment and not forever.