I have a lot of half-written blog posts. When I say a lot I mean there are nearly 20 draft emails with half written sentences sitting in my Gmail, pages upon pages of ideas in my journal and even full length posts in the notes app on my iPhone. One of these notes was a reoccurring thought about how friends can grow apart as time and geography become all-encompassing. This partially-thought-out post could be mistaken as cold-hearted as I very realistically mull over how “not everyone who enters your life is going to have an infinite stay”. This is a very mature thought I had on the MUNI, if I do say so myself; however after the death of my friend I must say it gives me chills and now I find myself rethinking the topic. There are people we grow apart from and it is a very natural process–distance, jobs, relationships and life change us and the things between two people that created the friendship are no longer present. It just isn’t a friendship anymore. As adults we are posed with the opportunity of picking and choosing who we spend time with and what and where we do it. There just isn’t room for everyone. And slowly the factors mentioned above fade some people into the background. Growing apart is a completely normal part of life and makes you appreciate those that you grow with.
But then there are the friends that you never really grow apart from, rather you just haven’t talked in awhile. These are the friends that are just as comfortable even if you haven’t talked in months or heaven forbid, years. “Too busy” or “i forgot to text you back” are both lines I’ve used and heard frequently over the years. I’d go out on a limb to say 95% of the time that is complete bullshit. We need to fight like hell to hang on to those people no matter how many games of phone tag it takes. The only things we take with us are the relationships and memories we have with people we love. So why are we ever too busy to spend 20 minutes catching up? All I know for sure is this: at the end of the day the only things that matter are the people we meet and the things we create with them, because in the end that is where we make our mark.
Life is so precious. And short. You never know when someone you love might slip away. Hang in there and fight the phone tag, make the time. Because there is nothing worse than waking up one day realizing you had a dozen missed calls to tell someone how much they meant to you.
Kk what you have said only becomes more important the older u get! I have a very dear friend from childhood- we grew apart for too many years to count and yet when we connect it’s as if we have never been part! We meet people at wise on how friends/ people affect your entire being. Cherish those that you love build on those relationships and know that each one has touched your life for a reason! Love u kk