Bittersweet Goodbyes

Not everyone who comes into your life is meant to stay. Some people are like rocket boosters; their job is to propel you to a certain point and then fall off. A few years ago, while surfing through Instagram, I came across a motivational video that said this, and since then, it has stuck with me and guided me. Life is beautiful, but sometimes it can be cruel. At one point in our lives, we will have to let go of some people. It is almost inevitable. Letting go of certain people can be painful, whether they are friends, family, or partners. Sometimes we have valid reasons for letting go of people, other times our reasons might just be wrong or absurd.

Once in a while, we meet beautiful people. We start talking, go out together, take nice pictures, and plan a future together. Just when you think everything is going well, boom! Something happens and then you stop talking. Whether you cut ties with the person or they cut ties with you, letting go of people close to you can be really painful and can even leave permanent scars in your life. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to let go of your close people to you- maybe a friend, family, or partner? Was your reason justifiable? If you found a genie lamp, would you wish to still be with the person?

Like many people here, I've been in situations where I had to cut ties with people close to me. One experience that stands out happened in my first year of university. Before I resumed school, I was skeptical about letting anyone into my life due to past ugly experiences that made me close my heart to friendships and relationships. However, I soon realized that in a cruel world, there are beautiful people, and you need beautiful people around you. My initial plan was to be a lone wolf, doing things on my own without anyone's help, but I soon realized that it wasn't possible.

When I finally resumed lectures, I felt like an outsider. I resumed late, and on my first day, everyone had already had cliques, walking partners, and seat buddies. I had no one to talk to, and it was really complicated for me because I'm not really social. I find it difficult to make friends. Surprisingly, a lady approached me and sat down beside me. We became friends almost immediately. While everyone was busy with their own things, she took it upon herself to reach out to me and update me on the latest gists about lecturers and students. She also sent me the necessary notes and PDFs. My first weeks were fun and easy because of her.

Just when I thought everything was going well, something happened. That day, she arrived late to class, so we didn't sit down together. I sat in the first row, while she sat at the back. After class, I noticed she looked unhappy and was frowning. I didn't think anything was wrong with her. We were supposed to go to the library together after class, so I went to meet her and suggested we head to the library. Surprisingly, she yelled at me. “Go by yourself,” I remember her exact words. To worsen the case, our coursemates were there. It was really embarrassing and I felt like disappearing into thin air. That day, I decided to cut ties with her. We stopped chatting and talking in school.

After a few weeks, our paths crossed again. We found ourselves in the same group for a project. It was then I found out that the lecturer seized her phone that day which explained why she was cranky. Maybe I should have asked her why she was upset that day; maybe I would have understood. Yes, she shouldn't have yelled, but she was angry and in pain at the time. She let her emotions get the better of her, and so did I. Although we eventually made up and apologized to each other, we couldn't go back to the way things were before. This is the worst reason I've ever had to let someone go.

Thanks for reading.