It’s been said that friendship is forever. We meet people everywhere we go, drifting through life and befriending those that we come across. Most friendships forged are able to stand the test of time, while some are only meant to be fleeting.

Those that we consider friends are meant to be in your life. They’re the ones that stick by you no matter what happens – be it good or bad. They’ll argue with you when they don’t agree on whatever random topic you’re discussing and might walk away in a bit of a huff, but let’s face it – at the end of the day, you’re back to being friends and ready to tackle the next storm that comes your way.

Others saunter on through, never looking back at you once they’re done getting whatever they need out of you. These are the ones that achieve only the role of a passer-by, leaving a small imprint behind that you’ll think about randomly. These are the ones that were never meant to be.

There’s also those with whom you think you’re forging friendships with but it turns out that it’s not that way at all. At the end of the day, you’re just a name they’ve come across and will most likely never remember as the time goes by. It’s these that grace us with their presence for only a minute or two, and become a fleeting memory that we’ll recall one day out of the blue and wonder ‘hey, I wonder how so-and-so is doing?’

We also have those with whom we strike up conversations hoping that we’ll be able to befriend them but with whom we’ll never truly have some sort of connection with at all. You know the ones, right? The kind that will look around and speak to everyone around you, their eyes roving over you for a moment or two and continue on. They’ll do everything possible to ignore you, even though you’ve done nothing more than be nice to them. It’s as if you’re some insect that’s crawled across their shoulder that needs to be flicked away as if it doesn’t matter in hopes that you’ll forget that you’ve spoken to them in the first place.

I’ve had my moments where I’ve fallen out of touch with people. It may have been due to an argument or some stupid little thing that has caused me and the other person to part ways. Perhaps, it just wasn’t meant to be. Whatever the cause, all I have are the memories of what could have been.

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those that have come into my life. Some of those, I miss. Some of those, I do not. Yet I know that they were there for a reason, even if it was just for a season.

We all seek to fit in somehow with the people that we come across with every day. Be it in school, in our real lives, or online. The basis of this being that we hope that the people we co-exist with will some day become someone that we can truly call a friend.

If there were one person that you could have within your life again, who would that be? What would you do different? Would you take the time and the effort to make it work? Or would you let it go like you did a long time ago?

Those that come into our lives that we nurture in ways that are meant to be there forever will always remain there. Others are just a past-time. Something that is there when we need it, but which we know is not permanent. Sadly, a lot of the friendships that we forge are like that. Yet we should keep in mind that the people we come across within our lives are there for a reason, whatever it may be.

We guard close those that are meant to be. Those that have stuck with us through thick and thin. Those that have listened to the rants and have watched the tears flow whenever something goes awry. Those are the ones that we feel truly matter. The ones we love no matter what happens.

Yet we never forget the people that have come and gone. We find ourselves remembering them at odd moments, wondering what’s become of them. Sometimes, it’s because of something we’ve seen or heard. Or perhaps it’s because said person was briefly mentioned by someone we know. Whatever the cause, their memory will never truly be forgotten.

We all have our seasons. We come. We go. And sometimes we stay.

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