In life, you meet many people. You could have conversations with them or only meet them for a split second. Some of them will love you, and others will hate you for a reason you may never know. I used to hate the thought of people leaving my life, and a part of me still does.

There is a very important lesson that I learned, though. I have seen it on social media, heard it from mentors and even heard it in the church. It is that people are in your life for a reason, season or a lifetime.

There are more than a few people that I thought would be in my life forever. I had friends that I thought would be gone forever, but we made our way back into each other's lives. It is very true that people are in your life for a reason. They could be teaching you something without you knowing it. You might not even figure it out until after they leave. To all the people who have left my life, but also taught me a lesson, thank you.

You never know how long a person will be in your life if they are there for a season. There will a specific time frame or event in your life where that person or people need to be present.

When I think of a person or people being in my life for a season, I think of my friends in Connecticut. We were around each other for 11 years until I moved to Delaware. Those 11 years were the season that they were meant to be in my life. They helped teach my younger self valuable lessons about friendship.

When someone is in your life for a lifetime, you will know. You know that they will always be there no matter what. Whether you talk to them every single day, once a month or every few years, you know they will always be there and in your life. They can be someone you have known since you were little or someone you met a couple weeks ago. Maybe it was an ex or a crush who turned into a great friend. It may also be a friend you met in college. You never know who those people will be until you meet them.

There are so many people who I would like to thank whether they are in my life today or are in the past. To my ex, thank you for teaching me about myself and who I did not want to become. To a friend who has always been like a sister even if we do not talk, thank you for being my forever friend and un-biological sister. To the guy I had a crush on and who became a close friend, thank you for being one of the sweetest guys I know and always being there for me.

To Alizabeth, thank you for welcoming me into your life when I was supposed to be the new student at CRHS and becoming my best friend in a short time. I hope you'll always be around because I love when you are. To Sal, thank you for being like an older brother to me even though I have only known you for a month or two, and I honestly do not think we will ever figure out why we look so familiar to each other. To Franke, you are my birthday twin, and I would not want to share that day with anyone else. You are definitely family, and I cannot wait to see what you do in the future.

Never take anyone in your life for granted. Even if you cannot stand them, they are meant to be in your life for a reason. It may not seem like it at the moment, but you will look back and realize it. Thank you to everyone in my life and to those I meet in the future who are and have been trying to guide me in the right direction.