To my past friendships, I thank you.

I think it's fair to say that most of us have been through our fair share of friendship breakups. Some may even argue that those are harder to move on from than romantic-relationship breakups. Whatever the case, the end of a relationship is always a difficult one and often a process we all endure at one point or another in life. But, it's often through the most difficult experiences in which we grow and learn the most from.

I have personally had my fair share of short-lasting friendships, some ending like the burst of a bubble and others just gradually fading away through time, both of us acting like it's not happening, but deep down, we know the outcome. I find myself contemplating every so often about some of my past friendships and why they ended as well as what my life may be like had they not ended. Though I don't have all the answers I desire, I know of one thing: many of these endings lead me to new beginnings. And I hope that the same occurred for my past friends. I have become a better version of myself through the losses I've experienced, both emotionally and physically. I've taken the sweetness that I discovered through those friendships to build new ones down the road. But I also took the sour that emerged from some of the relationships to learn that it's not an acquired taste. I'm not perfect, nor am I close to it. But I don't regret any of the friends I have carried with me in the past because they too, had carried me.

Dear friend, I hope you're well. I hope that wherever you end up in this life, you end up happy and as the best version of yourself. I know that sometimes we close ourselves up for fear of pain or rejection, but I invite you to be more open. I'm learning this myself too because I know that in the past I may have been more closed off. And in a way, I still am. But I'm learning to be more open with those whom I trust. And maybe you used to be one of them. I hope that the conversations we carried with each other are being kept alive. Somewhere along the road, we hit a bump that we couldn't bypass. I used to hold a grudge to that -- but now, I realize why that bump was there. It served a bigger purpose. And trust me when I say that there will be plenty more of those bumps as you continue your journey.

Dear friend, I thank you, for helping me grow.