Letting go of Your Friends

Mr Bistro · **Posted:** June 9th, 2013, 4:04 pm

One of the most challenging stages of my life so far has been saying goodbye to all of my friends as they continue on to the next chapter in their lives. This could be because of college, getting married, or going off to the military. But of all of they ways that they leave: Saying goodbye is the same.
Its just a phase of life that everyone will go through and there is not reason not to be sad to see that the friends that they have known for years are not going to be around anymore. I said goodbye to my best friend today as he is moving out of town a few months early to get settled down for college. Now, he's not the only one that will be leaving over the course of this summer. But he is the beginning of this pattern, and the heaviest hitting one.

I will be staying were I am at when I go to college because I have enrolled completely online as a way to cut costs, stay home, and keep my well paying job. I can imagine towards the end of this summer, when things have finally died down, and everyone has left. That I will turn to the friends I have met on the internet.

I cannot stress enough the friendships that one makes on the internet are important ones. I take RuneShark, a runescape youtube success, which has just closed it's doors and will no longer be creating content. Its a phase of life that everyone will go through. But the friendships--like Simon and James--will last forever.

I have made many friends recently on the internet, and to have taken the chance to get to know them over Skype, possibly see them, is a life line. They are the kind of friend that is there no matter where you are in the world. You may not see them that often, but they are there.

It brings up the point of "the internet connects everyone." If you ever feel alone, just know that even though they don't live near you anymore, doesn't mean they are gone. That is a blessing that society has given, and we should never forget that.

Adbot · **Posted:** June 9th, 2013, 4:04 pm

Kyle · **Posted:** June 9th, 2013, 5:04 pm

A bit of advice from someone who moved completely across the country for college. The friends you make in college will be your friends for life, the type of people who will stand with you in your wedding. Odds are your roommate is going to be your best friend during and as a post grad. You're doing online college which there is nothing wrong with that but you must understand that maybe not at first but when semesters start passing your friends will start letting go of you because they have met their college friends. It's just the cycle of life for our generation so you won't have to say goodbye to them. I can not stress enough to you the value of moving away from college, employers have and will look down at people with degrees online because 90% of college is gaining life skills and completely gaining social skills to interact in the modern world. You are depriving yourself of those skills by not choosing to move away for college. My last bit of advice is make memories with your friends now because in a few months when they've settled into the college life your relationship with them will never be the same. Harsh words but somebody should tell you how it will be, good luck in college.

Smallfib · **Posted:** June 9th, 2013, 9:19 pm

A bunch of my friends just left to go off to college, one is going to Virginia, another to New York, and several off to Northern California. I still have another year until I graduate high school, but it makes me think of all the people I will be leaving next year. I agree with you about the Internet, and I think it's really novel that we have things like Facebook and twitter, which means that our friends, no matter how far they travel, are still only one click away.

I personally have never made real friends over the Internet, but I suppose that's the same concept. The amount of connections the Internet allows for really is astonishing, and I think it's sad that the majority of Internet users choose instead to fill their online time with garbage and e-bashing that they don't take advantage of this.

Sunset Fish · **Posted:** June 10th, 2013, 5:54 pm

I hear you.
I for one had to start dealing with this sad, yet truthful part of life earlier then a lot. Even before collage started, we all started drifting, taken a different path down life's roads.
Some are now out of state, others in the army. What path am I on, not important nor does anyone care.
Even them..

Yes with this age of the internet, you may not be able to see them in person but can still always be in contact, yet the friendship you once had, won't be the same, even if you communicate daily. Eventually.. It will become less and less often you speak.
To few times a week, to once a month facebook poke. (just coming from personal relations in my life, not saying all your childhood relationship will turn out like this)
I'm to the point where I stopped feeling sad about it, but numb from acceptance. Was very hard at first.

Internet friends.. School friends, still friends all the same.
They come.. , and sadly what comes must also go. As a child when I watched the classic film *Stand by Me* I didn't understand it fully till I got older.
"That will never happen with me and my buddies, friends for life, we'll always be back to back for each other, we will never drift apart"

Hm, funny how life turns out isn't it?

Mr Bistro · **Posted:** June 11th, 2013, 7:32 pm

Thanks everyone for there responses to my post. Even if some of the things are hard to hear, they are exactly what I needed to hear from people.
I know its a hard time and everyone will have to go through it eventually. I'm still looking forward to my last few months with the last of my friends.