To the people I’ve left behind along the way,

Each of you know me in different capacities. For some, the relationship was surface, allowing us to share our gossip with each other as we laughed about the silly things our common acquaintances did. For others, we were closer than close. We knew each other’s lives backward and forwards and felt pure joy getting to spend time together. We thought we’d share more than a season in each other’s orbits and our ties ran deep and strong. The rest of the relationships seem to fall somewhere in between.

I can’t list why each of our relationships came to an end, although I’m sure some are more obvious. Some endings were harder than others, bringing way too many tears to count and way too many harsh words. They dragged out and were painful and pulled at our hearts too much. Other endings were easy. We just simply stopped. There were no goodbyes or tearful “Text me!” sendoffs. We were just over and that was okay. Some endings were my choice and had to come for my own mental happiness and some were ended by others, sometimes surprisingly.

I was once told that each person that comes into your life is there for either a reason, a season, or a lifetime. The reasons come for a specific moment of time to bring something new into your life. The seasons are there a bit longer, allowing their influence to be felt more in-depth. The lifetimes are the ones who fit you and belong along your side, continuously influencing you. It’s your job to see where each person fits. Sometimes they surprise you and move from reason to season or season to lifetime. Or, sometimes they’re gone much quicker and were only in your life for some reason.

To you who I’ve left behind, thank you for some of the best reasons and seasons of my life.

You are the people who brought me joy when I was overwhelmed or stressed, the people who took my mind off of my fears, the people who showed me how to love and how to be loved, the people who taught me that life was so much better when you stop going through the motions, the people who pushed me to be better and stronger.

You are the people who have helped to shape me into who I am.

But now, standing where I am, I can’t go backward. I appreciate each of you for the influence you played in to the woman who is sitting here writing this letter, but I can’t let you back in. Every one of our relationships ended for a specific reason and I came to terms with that a long time ago. Maybe at some point, some of you will re-enter for another season or another reason and the influence will continue. But for most, our relationship ended and we’ve moved on. We finished our season and it was a beautiful one but it’s over nonetheless.

Seasons change and people adjust and grow. I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you. We may never say another word to each other, but every word we’ve said in the past has meant something, even the angry and upset ones. We meant something to one another and that’s what makes the risk of relationships worth it. Thank you for the memories and the influences.

Good luck with these next seasons. May they be filled with beautiful moments and love that’s greater than you’ve felt. May you listen and have intent in your relationships. May you not over-react and end things too soon with people who could’ve been with you a lifetime. May you not over-think relationships and think they’re worth more than they are. May you grow and change and influence others to do the same. May you never let people make you feel like you’re worth less than you are.

May you be as happy and as fulfilled as you made me and may love every second of it.

Know that I’ll never forget or regret what we once were and I’ll forever treasure what we had.

With deep appreciation and respect,

The girl I’ve become since you