Letter to past self: Friends come and go

Dear Past Self,  

One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is how to let people go from your life. When I started my freshman year, I walked into high school with six friends. Now, as a senior, I am only close to two of them.  There is nothing wrong with having a big friend group, but there is also nothing wrong with having a small group of friends either. 

In high school and life, people grow apart. When I started to grow apart from the friends that I entered high school with, it was hard. Those people knew me better than anyone else and yet they began to feel like strangers. I held on to those friendships probably longer than I should have because I was afraid of what would happen if I did let go. When anyone finds themselves in a situation like that, my advice is to let go. If you and that person are meant to be in each other’s lives, you will reconnect. If you are not, it is not worth it to carry that dead weight because once you let go, you open yourself to different possibilities.  

You might also find that you are the person who is creating distance and that is okay too. People are not prepared enough to let people out of their life. But growing apart is natural. It might feel bad in the beginning, but it will most likely end better for both people involved.  

People change and sometimes who they change into is not a person you want in your life. Despite that, those situations can be the hardest when it comes to letting people go. I know because I have had to do that, and it took way longer than it should have for me to let them go.  

Watching someone you are close with change into someone you do not like can be hard because all you are trying to see is the person they used to be. I am telling you that you are doing your future self a favor by letting them go. Holding on to someone who is not truly there anymore can be soul damaging.  

Letting any person out of your life can be scary because you don’t know if the hole they left can be filled, and splits are not always a clean cut. High school is scary, life is scary, but the good thing about both is there will always be a person who you have never met. Now that person might have to be let go as well, but they might also be the perfect fit. Holding on to someone who is no longer yours can stop you from meeting the person who was meant to be in your life.  

Letting go can hurt and it’s hard and still scares me but it is an important lesson to learn.