People come in and out of our lives all the time. We meet hundreds; possibly thousands of people during our lifetimes…Some we say goodbye to much more quickly than others. Some are forever…some are not. However, each person we meet gives us something we did not have before.

Not every friendship or relationship is supposed to be long lasting. Some people run into our lives, guns blazing, and flip our world upside down in the best possible way, then hurry out faster than they came in. Often they leave us with a changed perspective or they have taught us a lesson. Despite their fleeting presence in our lives, these people always show us the value of a moment and the importance of amity.

Other people stroll into our lives, they inch their way in, teaching us what is right and what is wrong. They show us what we like and what don’t like and most importantly they show us who we can be. We share great times with these people, they make us smile and laugh more than we ever have. These people share their love with us for a little while but eventually they become only memories we keep in the back of our hearts.

Then there are people who knock at our doors and wait for us to let them in. These are the people who show up unexpectedly and make our souls blossom. These people know exactly what we need and teach us how to love ourselves. They can be our best friends, our lovers, our coworkers, our teammates, or our family. Anyone who remotely shows you how beautiful the world can be. These are the people who earn a spot in your heart where they can stay with you forever.

As you grow, you realize the people you’ve known forever don’t see things the way you do anymore. And that is okay! Not everyone will stay with us forever, we will move on, others will move on. It is natural. Just remember no friendship or relationship is ever a waste of your time. If it didn’t give you something you wanted, it taught you what you don’t want. If it didn’t give you something you needed, it taught you what you do need.

Regardless of how you say goodbye to a person, you must still remember to show them thanks. Everyone we meet gives us something we did not have before we met him or her. For that reason, we must thank them for whatever they have given us. It can be good memory, a fun conversation, a laugh, or even just a passing smile. Not everyone is going to stay forever and we still have to keep moving but it is important that we remember we are whom we are because of whom we have gotten to know.