Late-Night Realization: Letting Go
I realized I need to let go of a person I really care about.
Nothing happened– it’s just time to move on, you know? I can’t spend more time waiting on the “what if’s” of life, especially now.
One thing growing up taught me is that people leave. There’s nothing you can do to stop them; all you can do is accept change and appreciate the memories. Time moves on whether you want it to or not.
Sometimes, you realize that you’re the only one grasping onto straws of the relationship. I know I have more times than I can count.
Hours of phone calls, countless memories and coffee shop catch-up sessions are a hard thing to forget. But there comes a point when you have to listen to your intuition, even if you want to ignore it.
Friendships can end without warning, and that’s okay. It’s not something anyone can control, even if you want to. This can be both a fear or comfort by the way you look at it.
All you can do is invest time into someone and grow along the way. Giving love to temporary people isn’t something to regret; it’s something to be proud of. Aren’t we supposed to make the world a better place and make people feel wanted?
Being true to yourself is crucial. I’d rather give love to a momentary friend than ignore the connection all together. Each face comes with a life lesson. It’s not like me to completely disregard a relationship. And every single one that’s ended, good or bad, I don’t regret the love I invested into that person.
This late-night journal (and possible blog post) just popped into my head randomly. Some nights, I get a random pit in my stomach. Usually, that means I have to write something out.
Well, this very post is exactly that: my ramblings just trying to understand where this pit in my stomach came from.
Tonight, I realized it was about a person I haven’t talked to in a while. We used to talk all the time, but it’s slowly stopped. Life is chaotic, and relationships fade.
This isn’t me complaining, okay, it’s just me acknowledging that life is constantly changing. It’s taken me a few weeks to really come to terms with this, but I know it’s a feeling that won’t go away without acceptance.
This feeling is something people struggle with constantly, and I’m here to say it’s okay to feel this way. It’s okay to wrestle with your thoughts and intuition because of the past.
Letting go is a process, not a simple decision. It takes time. The amount of time it takes is up to you, whether it’s a day or a year. Do what’s best for you.
Just because you let someone go doesn’t mean you disregard the friendship you built together. While there may be no future interactions, you have the memories. You have the happiness and lessons you learned along the way.
A single person could be responsible for so much happiness and growth, but that very person can also turn into someone that brings you self-resentment and sadness. No friendship is perfect, and it’s okay to see the good and bad in a situation.
If relationships weren’t messy, we wouldn’t grow. We wouldn’t see our own faults. Through hardships, you learn so much about yourself.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve grown over the past four years because of this. I finally took time to look at myself, not those that hurt me. I finally started to love myself, and I learned how to say no in situations that don’t benefit me.
I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s okay to let people go, even if they haven’t done something completely wrong. People can just drift away from each other over time; there doesn’t have to be a big fight.
When I was in high school, I never let these types of relationships end. If I did, I assumed it was all my fault. I thought people left me because I wasn’t good enough, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
It’s more than okay to love and let go. That’s all you can do. If someone is drifting away, let them. Them leaving has nothing to do with your worth. You lived before them, and you can live after.
New chapters also mean new people. Release those that hold you back, and make room for those that fill you up. Moving on doesn’t mean you’re disregarding someone’s impact on your life; it means you are making room for even better.
Follow your gut, even if it’s hard. In the long run, you’ll be happy you did.
Sincerely, Abbey