Many of us are probably familiar with hearing that the friends we enter high school with, will not be the same people we exit with. Some are lucky enough to keep their best friend since kindergarten all through high school, but for many that isn’t the case.

It can be especially hard realizing and accepting that you’ve grown apart from any of your friends, but more so your best friend. One day the person who walked through life with you, the person who you discussed your hopes and dreams with, the person you spent the weekends with blaring music with the windows down is suddenly someone that you don’t know at all anymore.

Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan it to, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. Some have said that breaking up a friendship hurts way more than any relationship, and I can vouch for that. Losing a best friend is like losing a little piece of yourself and when you finally come to acknowledge that you don’t know anything about them anymore, and see them hanging out with other people is a heartbreaking moment. However, it can also make you a different person for the better.

There’s no magic fix to this, it is normal to grieve, and it may seem like losing them is the end of the world, but it’s not. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. People come into your life for a reason, and in turn they leave for a reason. It’s important to understand that not everyone who comes into your life will stick around, and with being this young it’s necessary to know that this is just high school. The people who are truly meant to be in your life will come back and sometimes space is essential to make those friendships stronger. In the meantime, branching out to new groups of people or hanging out with others and focusing on time for yourself can be the best way to grow.

Even if the person who is no longer your other half hurts you or stops talking to you, don’t resent them or speak low of them. Thank them for teaching you lessons, helping you learn to become a better version of yourself, showing you a new perspective, and being the one to remind you that things are never hopeless.

To someone who shared life’s most pivotal moments with me and was meant to be my forever friend; Thank you for showing me how to be a friend and how not to be a friend. Thank you for teaching me that life isn’t about following every rule and that it’s okay to be spontaneous every now and then. Most importantly, thank you for loving me even when I didn’t love myself. I wouldn’t be here without you so thank you again for helping me move on to the next chapter of my life.

Sincerely,

Sydney