With maturity comes the understanding that not all the friends we collect over the years will stay in our lives forever. The friends we have when we are younger, aren’t necessarily going to be there when we are older, and that’s completely normal. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Of course, there are two groups to that matter. There are friends we drift apart from slowly over time, naturally, and ones we intentionally leave behind. We, as humans, constantly grow and evolve. Throughout life, we change the way we look at life – our values and beliefs – and so are the people around us. So, it makes sense that sometimes we will want to leave people behind.

As mentioned before, it often happens naturally as well. Sometimes people simply grow apart from each other, go in different ways. People that are in your life are in it for a reason. Sometimes, it’s just not the right time for your friendship to exist, and that is okay. We have to remember that losing friends isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a step in moving on, in growing.

Other times, however, we intentionally leave people in the past. Usually, those are the people that are very different from us. Or, the people that hurt us, but fail to take responsibility. We constantly say forgive and forget, bus it is much easier said than done. While we can try to forgive, forgetting is much harder.

At the end of the day, friendships require work. If someone doesn’t put work into your relationship, you are not as important to them as they are to you. Choose people who choose you to be around you. Choose the people who you can be yourself around; the people with whom you can argue and express your opinion, yet know that your relationship will survive this; the people who genuinely care for you. Choose these people and never take them for granted.

So, to all the friends you lost along the way, both accidentally and intentionally, say thank you. Thank them for the good and the bad, the highs and the lown, and move on.