Until recently, I had planned to write a humorous piece this week, since lately, I've been writing articles that have been emotionally provoking (To Everyone Without A Father On Father's Day, Are We Grooming An Underachieving Generation?, and My Sibling-less Life, to name a few). I know that a series of "heavy" articles can make readers lose interest; however, I needed to get something off of my chest. I won't make you read about my personal situation and why it bothered me so much, but let's just say that it made me feel exceptionally moronic for missing certain people in my life at one point or another.
However, all things considered, I'm 21 now, so this--much to my surprise--isn't going to be a "burn piece" (pun intended), and I'm certainly not going to waste my time holding a grudge over someone who is older and stuck in the past. Instead, I'm going to send a message to the general public in lieu of my personal experiences.
You can look at these "burning bridges" situations through two separate yet ever-so-relevant cliched phrases: "everything happens for a reason" and "the phone works both ways".
Beginning with the latter sooner, despite the abstract application of the phrase, it still rings true (also, pun intended). If you put in the effort and attempted to contact the person in question and the effort was not reciprocated, you can rest assured that you're not at fault for the result. On the opposite side of the phone, if you had a legitimate issue with the person aimlessly attempting to contact you to mend the friendship/relationship and make an active decision not to answer or respond, then you're not at fault either. The moral of the story: no one is at fault. Truth be told, the fact that you are no longer in contact with each other is a byproduct of life; people naturally grow apart. There are very few people who come into your life and remain an active part of your life for its entirety. The stories of childhood friends and high school sweethearts are a rarity, which makes those of success that much more commendable.
And, finally, just as the former suggests, the fact that the bridge has been burned happened to clear the way for another bridge to be formed in the future. It's not the end of the world if you lose someone who is still alive and well--it happened for a reason, despite how auditorily unpleasant that phrase truly is. You have to be patient because friendships and, certainly, relationships don't happen overnight (just as you can't expect an actual bridge to be built in a single night).
Have faith; you will find people who match with you in a more current sense, people who make you want to be better, and people who make you feel alive again.
Learn from your experiences, and move onward.