Growing Up, We All Lose Some People We Once Called 'Friends' & Here's Why It's Okay

Growing up, we have countless friends in school and college. The bigger the group, the bigger the fun. But as the time passes by, we don't even realise how and when we lose all those people we once called friends. If you ask anyone in their late twenties about how many close friends they have, the answer would usually be "just a couple of close friends".

You might have an army of people you've known from neighbourhood, school, college or office, but there are always few people who you turn to when life's dragging you down.

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Friends Are The Family We Choose

It is usually said that our friends are the family we choose for ourselves. When you¡¯re young, your friends are your friends because you love them for who they are and you enjoy spending time with them. They become your go-to people whether you¡¯re having a great time in your life or going through a tough phase. But what happens when you grow old?

Friendships Change As We Grow Older

Change is the only constant in our lives and friendships, just like everything else, change over time, too. As you grow old, you have more responsibilities. Life isn¡¯t limited to bunking classes and discussing each other¡¯s boyfriends and girlfriends.

Rather, you focus more on your career and developing relationships that¡¯ll last longer.

You¡¯ll see that your best friend keeps changing over the years and you¡¯re more close to the friends who understand your situations better than others. Even studies say the number of friends we have reduces continuously as we get older.

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But how did you reach a point where you started choosing between your friends? Well, it¡¯s an unconscious (and sometimes, conscious) decision we make in order to simplify our lives¡­ Because honestly, once you start working and get married, who has the time? Of course, friends are important but you can¡¯t possibly be there for them like you used to be.

You Can¡¯t Always Be There For Your Friends And Same Goes For Them

The truth of life is you can¡¯t always be there for your friends. They might ring you up at 3 am but you¡¯re probably asleep with your phone on silent because you have an important meeting to attend next day. Similarly, there might be times when they might not be there when you needed them.

You can¡¯t visit them always because you have commitments towards your family that you need to address first. You can¡¯t always be there for your friends because your priorities change and that¡¯s the way life will always be.

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Friendships That Last Forever Are Forgiving

When we are new to the responsibilities that life throws at us, we beat ourselves for choosing between our family and friends. And quite naturally, we prioritize our family over any other relationship.

As humans, we¡¯ll always give more attention to the people who are in our proximity and mostly, that happens to be a situation with our families.

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Friendships that last forever are forgiving. With time, we tend to lose touch with people. Trying to strike a balance between our professional and personal lives, often we don't have enough time to catch up with people as often as we used to.

And it's not just one-sided. We're all in the same game, trying to make a life through various ups and downs. And in this mad race, the ones who stand by you in the time of need, who have forgiven you for your mistakes and whom you've forgiven for screwing up at times, are the ones who really matter in the long run. Because that's just how life works.