For many of us, college is an exciting time. We are all taking on a new adventure – meeting lots of people, challenging ourselves academically, and ultimately finding out what we want to do with the rest of our lives.
But of course, college is not in any way easy. Like anything it comes with hardships. I've found that one of these hardships is the collapse, or rather "growing apart of", friendships I had before entering college.
Although it can be hard to acknowledge, friendships do end, and people change. So here's an open letter to those friends I've grown apart from:
My dearest old friends,
I want to first thank you for the extensive amount of joy and happiness you have brought me over these years. There's no way I would have made it through high school with you. At this time in my life, you were completely necessary. I knew I became friends with you for a reason.
You helped me through a difficult time in my life. I strongly feel as though we helped each other. High school is such an awkward time for everyone – no one really knows their place and emotions are running haywire. During this time of chaos, you gave me structure. When I needed comfort I knew I could count on you to give me that. You made high school enjoyable for me.
We grew so much together: from tiny, insecure freshmen to strong, confident seniors. I'm so thankful that I had special people like you to go through this time of growth with. It is something I will never forget.
Yet there was a time when this growth together had to stop. College was a parting of ways, and the parting was bittersweet.
We are still growing, just with other people. And these people are helping us in this part of our lives. It can be hard to accept, but I believe different people come into our lives at different times to be there for us in different ways. There was a time for us to be friends, and that time may just have passed.
We are all on the route to finding ourselves and our true passions. This is incredibly important in securing a career that will lead to a fulfilling and happy life for each one of us. We need new friends to help us grow in ways that we couldn't in before. That's not to say you all weren't wonderful friends, but the timing and circumstance of our friendships didn't allow for this particular growth.
Even though we aren't close now, I hope that you don't discount your personal importance and value in my life. Without you, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
I thank you for everything you have done for me.
