Will Friendship Last Forever?

People Change

Think about what you looked for in a friendship when growing up. You probably looked for people with similar interests and hobbies and people you could relate to or who could relate to you (people with similar experiences, for example). Also, you were probably limited at some point in your life with where you could meet new people, perhaps spending time only in your hometown with people from a similar race or socioeconomic background. So it’s no wonder that, as people experience and learn new things, develop new interests and hobbies, travel and move to new places, and take different paths regarding family and career, friendships may change too.

Friendships Change

As people change, what binds friendships together may loosen. The common lifestyles may be gone. Maybe you often talked with your friend about your favorite books or movies or sports, and if you or the other person no longer shares those interests, your friend may seem a bit less like the person you knew. Maybe your focus is now on raising a family while your friend chooses to be without children, focusing on a career. Moving away from each other can reduce time together (although it does not have to end the friendship, as technology makes staying in touch much easier than before). However, just because friendships will often change does not mean that they must end. You may even, due to changes in your lifestyle, and sharing some of the same experiences and/or opening up to each other about your lives, become closer to a friend that had before been more of an acquaintance. It is important to remember that all relationships grow and change and that we should focus on that.

The Most Important Friendship

Our most important friendship is ourselves. As we change as people, we can find other friends. We may feel betrayed or hurt by a friend or feel that a friend no longer understands us. But if we can appreciate ourselves for who we are, no matter how much our hobbies, interests, and lifestyles change, we can be happy.

Finally, even though our lives change and what we look for in a friend may change, there could always be a person or people in our lives who, even if we may not relate to them as we once did, will always feel a connection to. The meaningful, life-shaping experiences that we share with a friend, and thus the memories we share, will never go away.