"I'd always thought we'd be friends forever. Well, forever just got a lot shorter than I expected."

-Unknown

Throughout high school, you come to find who your friends are. If you’re anything like me, you tend to have one specific friend that you do everything with. This person is your best friend.

When you have a best friend, memories are made and secrets are kept. As teenagers, we feel the freedom that the rest of our lives have to offer, and we want to go through life with our best friend by our side, every step of the way. Promises are developed, hopes and dreams are discussed, and the future is seemingly infinite, especially with them by your side.

Unfortunately, sometimes, life happens. After graduation, it becomes harder to keep in contact with high school friends regardless of how it was promised in the months preceding. People are forgotten, friends lose their way, and your future is slowly becoming determined. The only people that you expect to have by your side, as your future becomes clear, are your family and your best friend. Having them as a support group and having them by your side through your best and your worst times are all that you need to succeed. What happens when your best friend isn’t around anymore?

I know that when I get to know someone, I put a little bit of my soul into each and every person because I get invested in relationships. Granted, it probably isn’t the smartest thing to do, but it’s unavoidable because I care so deeply for each and every one of my friends. When I lose a friend, I lose a little part of me. I lose a memorable part of my past. Losing a best friend is like losing a piece of yourself. The only things that aren’t lost are the memories, and sometimes those memories are what makes losing someone the most painful part of moving on and growing up.

When you lose a friend, you become strangers after a while. It’s difficult to comprehend that someone you used to be so close to isn’t around anymore. You don’t know them anymore and they don’t know you. You used to know every single thing about each other, but now you can hardly muster a friendly wave when you see them around town or on campus. It seems odd seeing them on social media surrounded by new people, people that you don’t know, and thinking that you don’t know who they are anymore either. This moment is a heartbreaking realization, but it’s also life changing.

There are some people in your life who are put there for a reason. There are also people in your life who leave for a reason. This is natural selection’s way of telling you that you are stronger than anything life throws your way and that your best friend is not meant to be in your life forever. Losing them is not the end of the world. It’s not the end of your happiness, or your social life. Sometimes, losing your high school best friend is exactly what you need in order to become a better version of yourself.

Understanding and coming to terms with the fact that not everyone will stick around in your life is a difficult lesson to learn, especially at such a ripe age. It’s important that when you lose someone you were close with, you fill that void with people who love you and support you no matter what. This sets the stage for allowing you to focus on yourself. You have time to focus on the friends that you’ve had since elementary and middle school who don’t take advantage of you. You can spend more time with your family, focus more on school, and create lifelong memories with the friends that have and always will stick around. Most of all, you can allow yourself be happy with you. After mourning the loss of your best friendship and getting the closure that you need, allow yourself to open up a new chapter of your life. You’d be amazed at all of the opportunities knocking on your door once you broaden your horizons and start focusing on yourself. Losing your best friend is like going through a breakup, but you are more than your best friend. You are your own individual. Above all, you are not defined by others.

It’s hard to accept that people come and go, but we are shaped by these people and they teach us the value of true friendship. We learn to appreciate, respect, and admire those who stick by our sides, every step of the way, even when times get tough and friendships are tested. Love you friends, don’t take them for granted, and make as many memories as you can because college will be the best years of your pre-adult life. Meet new people, make new friends, but remember who was a part of your past and learn from them.

Nobody ever wants to lose their best friend, but sometimes letting go will allow you move forward and succeed in everything that life throws at you. You will conquer everything in your life’s path and you will realize that everything happens for a reason. As Albert Schweitzer said, “Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know

everything happens for a reason.”