Letting go is difficult, and it always will be. It is one of those things that people can never understand the difficulties and complications of fully until they go through it first hand. It is human nature to crave stability and hate change. Letting go does not mean failure. It does not mean giving up. It can mean relief. It is okay to recognize when something is no longer what it used to be, and it is okay to try to save it as long as you don’t lose yourself in the process. We tend to hold onto people that make us feel good and alive, even if the gratification of emotional fulfillment is short-lived. People crave happiness in the moment without thinking of the potential repercussions. How do you just say goodbye to someone who meant so much to you at some point in your life? How do you say goodbye to someone you have so much left to say to, someone you experienced new parts of life with, and someone who knew you better than you knew yourself? It is hard to let go of memories, the laughter, smiles, deep personal talks and the little things that remind you of the person. But, what is more important is being fair to ourselves emotionally.
I believe that people come into our lives as learning experiences and that they all serve different purposes. They teach us things about ourselves that we never knew, evoke emotions from us that we didn’t even know were possible to feel, and show us a different perspective we can acquire and implement into our daily lives. It is hard to accept that someone is no longer good for us, especially those who we thought would be in our lives forever. But, people change, relationships change. Unfortunately, this is out of our control despite however much we try to control our relationships with others. Sometimes things that we just do not understand or even fathom happen and that is okay. Life goes on. At the end of the day, we were here before we met this person and we will be here after; this is a hard mentality to grasp, trust me I know. If someone is not meant to be in our lives, we cannot control that. Instead, it is good to focus on the things we can control, meaning our happiness. Everyone deserves happiness and peace, let yourself be happy, you deserve it. Show yourself self-respect and love and walk away from those who do not treat you as they should. Go meet new people, do new activities, surround yourself with those who love you, and make new memories. It is okay to think of people that used to be important in your life; they were there for a reason and what they provided you with was something unique and special, but just remember that even though the memories last, the hurt will not.
Through all of this, I have learned that letting go is very difficult for me. I am an emotional person who leads with my heart and feelings over logic. I always find the value and goodness in people even when they give me reasons not to. It is very difficult for me to let go of people because I believe in chances. I think the best of people and as a result I assume people will always treat me with the kindness and respect that I give them. The way I treat people and whatever redeeming qualities I see in them does not mean they are good people to have in my life. Recognizing that someone is not good for you anymore is hard, but it is okay. Letting go has been the most emotionally taxing and difficult thing that I have ever had to deal with, but life is unpredictable and gives us challenges so we can grow. Memories will help you learn from your past and grow into the person you are destined to become, and boy do I bet that person is lovely.