Friendship

Friendships changing: I’ve always heard that friendships change and people come in and out of your life. Things like you’re high school friends won’t be your college friends or whatever stage you are transitioning into. That it’s sort of a natural cycle of sorts. I think the greeting card companies really play into this idea, because you see all the little cards about “leaving footprints” and “lasting impressions.” Because of past events and life in general, I started to ponder the whole idea of friendships changing.

So that brings me to two conclusions:

Fact One: friendships change with time and age. Thank goodness!! I can’t imagine a relationship not growing with time- how boring would that be?!

Fact Two: Each person plays an equal role in determining these changes for the most part. There are always exceptions and a one sided friendship could be the reason it fails.

I’m thankful for many people that have come in and out of my life and the impact they have made. There are several women who have been priceless role models for me, and I am extremely grateful for the influence they had and wisdom they passed down. And since I’m not one to say I “regret” something ( I call them life lessons), I would certainly not be the person I am today without having some of my past friendships. BUT-does it make me a bad person to say I’m also thankful for the ones I got rid of?? ---Insert awkward silence---I did just say that. While I’m a sentimental sap who loves those little cards too, I want to see one that says something along the lines of “I just sorted through my friends like they were old clothes. Glad you’re a classic piece.”

This might be my inner witch jumping out at the fact that you CAN choose the people in your life. I don’t mean this in the revenge sense or that you should be a snob or anything along those lines, but not everyone we meet turns out to be a wonderful or healthy influence in our lives. I think a big part of getting older is learning when to let go of people and acknowledge that you DON’T always have to deal with them. You know those people who are always causing some sort of drama or are so focused on their self-centeredness that they don’t seem to have time for you. Those darling individuals that only seem to call when it’s convenient for them to use you in some way…you know what I’m getting at here. The back hand of that is that they also have that choice. They can eliminate you just as easily as you can them. I think that makes the people that stick with us that much more special. Would you not agree that your best friends and confidants know your faults and yet they still seem to love you anyway? So the ones that stick it out for the long haul-they’ve left more than footprints and impressions. They have and continue to actively shape your life. Funny how the most meaningful friendships seem to happen without much effort while the ones that I need to let go I’ve worked the hardest on…