Sometimes in our lives we find friendships that we couldn't imagine our lives without. many times, these are friendships we anticipate and plan to keep for a long time, regardless of things that may get in the way.
Other times, we may meet people that we find an instant connection with, and yet they can’t be in our lives for a long time.
This is something I’m especially feeling with my friendships that I’m making in Spain (shout out to any of you that may read this!), but I have also experienced this in other places in my life too. This does not mean these people are any less of friends, and it doesn’t mean they aren’t important to you. But they will stay in your lives for as long as possible, and as long as you need one another, and then they may disappear. This is OK. It’s OK to have short term friendships, because sometimes keeping up with scheduling, distance, time differences, and different personalities can be difficult.
Building a friendship with an intention or notion that it may be short term gives a different vibe to the connection you build. In my case, the friendships I’m forming in Spain currently have been built around living together and being able to spend a lot of consecutive time in close contact.
This is a completely different kind of friendship than the kind you’ve built with those people you have known since you were 8 because in that case, you were able to leave each other if things got tough, and come back together tomorrow after cooling off.
However, with short term friendships, you may not always have time or space to work things out separately so you have to learn how to manage drama and difficult situations by working through them together, and being able to move past it quickly. If you're lucky, there may not even be drama in your friendships and you'll be able to get to know each other in better time than if there were things you would have to deal with together.
Of course, there are some short- term friendships that you may not realize will be short term, but you still learn a lot from this kind of friendship, no matter how short or long it may last. People in different stages of your life can teach you very different life lessons that you didn’t even know you needed. Every person you meet has a different role in your growth as a person and as a friend in the future, so it's important to not take advantage of the opportunities for friendships that you may have.
Even in times way after your time with these short term friends has ended you will still find yourself thinking of them. You will find yourself wondering how they’re doing from time to time, yet you may not ever talk to them again. Friendships don’t always have to be lifelong to be important.
These are the friends who you can go to when you want to escape your lifelong friends, or get to know new people. These are the ones you get to share really specific inside jokes that other people may not know about or understand, and that’s something you will always have no matter what may come between you in time. Any friendship I make is one that is important to me and will hold a special place in my heart no matter what.
Short term friends may not always know everything there is to know about you, and sometimes that’s probably for the best. But they quickly learn to accept you for the you that you give them, and you learn to do the same with them.
Whether your friendship lasts for a few weeks or for a few years, it's important to be grateful for the short term friendships that fill those tiny spaces in your heart that you didn't know were missing. it's important to take in every second that you're given to get to know them and get to appreciate what they bring to your life-whether that's laughter, a shoulder to cry on or spill your stories to, or just someone to talk to in class so you don't have to work alone in group projects.
All friendships are good friendships, so don't feel bad if you're given a lot of short term friendships. They are still important.
