Used to be Friends

Do you remember when there used to be a “We”?

When group chats were loud, inside jokes were endless, and every plan somehow included all of us. It feels like a different lifetime now.

There used to be a friend group- our friend group. The kind where you’d say “Us forever” and actually believe it. Slowly, without a big fight, or a clear moment, everyone just… drifted. Different schools, new people, unread messages, “Sorry, I’ve been busy.” No villain, no big explosion- just quieter and quieter, until silence.

Sometimes I wonder if it was my fault. If I should’ve tried harder, texted first more, said “Let’s hang out” one more time. Other times I think maybe we were just meant to be a temporary home for each other, a soft place to land for that version of us.

Maybe in another life, the group chat was still active, the jokes never get old, and no one grows apart. But in this life, I’m trying to be grateful that it happened at all, even if it didn’t last.

If you’re reading this, if you have found new people, I hope you let yourself love them without constantly comparing them to “The Old Group.” And if you’re still a little lonely, I hope you remember: You are still worth showing up for. New people will find you. You will laugh like that again.

Please don’t forget them, but don’t stay stuck there either. Let it be a good chapter, not the whole book.