Most people have heard the old Irish proverb, “There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be.” Besides a Hinckley picnic boat, this now overused cheesy quote is pretty accurate. Friendships are incredibly important to cherish and foster, and truly amazing friendships can be rare. Being able to identify the true friendships in your life is an important ability, as is recognizing when to let go or move on from stale ones. It’s a hard thing to do, letting go of a friendship, but it’s also ok, even beneficial at times.
In college you leave behind the friends you’ve had for countless years, and enter a completely new community filled with foreign faces. But as these foreign faces soon become the faces you wake up to, it lets you reflect on your friendships from home. You may realize that these friendships are grounded in the morals that create lasting bonds. However, you may realize that some friendships are more like habits, and that you hang out with certain people because it’s what you’re used to doing. As people grow older and develop new interests, personalities change. This change can lead you to drift apart from old friendships.
It might never feel right, or good, to watch a friendship disintegrate. But it will feel right to meet new people and create friendships you want to flourish and last. There doesn’t need to be a dramatic fight or conflict that leads to the end of a friendship, but an acceptance that people naturally grow apart. While there might be some resentment, confusion or hostility, it will eventually fade away as the true friendships take the foreground of your life.