I believe every single person has a sole purpose in the lives of those they cross paths with, whether that be for a split moment in time or much longer. Their purpose isn’t always exciting or endearing, and certainly not always expected, but regardless, each person makes their mark even if that be in the smallest of ways.

I’ve learned that people waltz in when you least expect it and they change you with whatever experience and lesson they bring. To my best belief and hope, they always change you for the better. We come across people who assist us through our struggles and provide us with love, encouragement, and support we lacked, bringing a positive change to us emotionally, mentally, and physically. These people bring to the table what is desperately needed. And sometimes these people stay for just that, to play their part and then they leave. Many times we aren’t prepared to part ways with them and their absence leaves an empty space in us. The “when you lose them, you, in a way, lose yourself” people. Then there are those I refer to as your home team. They’re the ones who stay and make their mark daily, they bring a sense of consistency, clarity, and overall grow alongside us sharing in the experiences we face together and individually. They are the few in this world we are abundantly lucky to cross paths with for good, they are the people who become more part of you than you realize, the “when you find them, you, in a way, find yourself” people, your people.

Then we have the ones who only cross our path to hurt and leave us. These people make it hard for us to believe their mark did any good at all as sometimes they leave us in a worse state. Sometimes they challenge our characters, prompting us to lose sight of an initial perspective. They can leave us so disappointed that we become scarred and guarded. Although they bring the most pain, I believe these people teach and provide us with the most important lessons. The suffering they bring has the power to bend and break us, but into a better shape.

We as humans fail to appreciate what is brought to us if situations don’t end up working out as we wanted them to, which commonly happens. I am guilty of having wondered why someone came into my life after they have hurt me or done me wrong, I am guilty of feeling that I would have been better off never knowing that individual, but I am thankful to say whether it was little or long after, I’ve always found the good. I have always found a reason to believe they had a purpose in my life. People can be both the positive and negative contributors to our lives- just positive or even just negative. All of them, however, help us and above all, strengthen us in the long run. You may not see it today or tomorrow, or anytime soon for that matter, but you’ll look back one day and see the silver lining in every encounter and the purpose of a person will shine through.