I’ve often found it hard to let it go. I’ve craved for friendships to last. I wished for relationships to remain unchanged. I wanted people to stay as they were when they mattered most. Yet, life teaches us change is inevitable—people transform, and times shift.

Sometimes, the wisest choice is to be thankful for the moments instead of dwelling on what’s lost. So, rather than mourning the past, I find it meaningful to appreciate the beauty of every fleeting encounter.

I reflect on those who once walked beside me, only to eventually take their own paths. I recall friends who gradually drifted away and strangers whose fleeting encounters still resonate with me.

Among them, I remember the stranger-turned-friend who showed me kindness when I least expected it. I recall the mentor who believed in me when I doubted myself. There was also the love that didn’t last but helped me understand my own heart better.

Each of these individuals—present or absent—has left a deep imprint on me. Today, they might be nothing more than a name I scroll past on social media. They might have completely faded from my daily life. Even in their absence, their impact is interlaced with my story. Their fading presence does not diminish their significance; if anything, it deepens the lessons.