You’ve all heard the saying, “People come and go." This saying is for everyone, regardless of how long you’ve known someone or how close you were to someone. Sometimes, when you’re younger, you’ll meet someone you click with and think, “We’re going to be friends forever." And then, years later, you stop talking or you’re not as close, and that’s perfectly fine.

It is perfectly fine if your relationships with old friends change. One of the reasons why relationships with old friends change is distance. This can be because one of you moved away for college, you received a job offer across states, or you decided to start a new life somewhere else. Some friendships want that physical interaction while others are perfectly fine with connecting through social media, texts, and calls. Regardless, distance is a major reason why friendships change often.

Often times, your relationships with old friends will change because of busy schedules. Maybe your friend works morning shifts while you only work the night shifts. Or maybe you’re working and in school full time, and you just don’t have the time for anything else. A part of growing up means priorities change, and maybe for you, right now, school is more important or maybe you’re working on how to balance everything. Regardless, busy schedules happen.

Sometimes, you grow apart and your interests back then have changed completely over the years and now you don’t really have much in common nowadays. Most friendships start because you have something in common, whether you’re bonding over the same band, listen to the same music, eat the same foods, and so forth. Over time, your interests change and now the few things you had in common with your old friend, you no longer do. And that’s perfectly fine because it’s all a part of growing up.

Maybe you and your old friends are just not compatible anymore. Related to growing up and interests changing, Sometimes your personalities and the way you view things change over time as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. It just means that you both have dealt with different experiences and it changed your perspective on things. Because of that, you and your old friends can’t seem to agree on anything or sometimes, you argue more than you used. This is a perfect time to realize that sometimes your relationships with old friends change, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, some friendships are just meant to die. Maybe you had a toxic friend that always made fun of you, or maybe you found out about where they stand on a political stance. You don’t have to keep every friendship you have, especially if they make you feel bad about yourself or if you don’t believe in what they believe in. Or maybe they only call and text you if they need something and don’t add any value to the friendship. It’s okay to take a step back, reevaluate your friendship, realize that things have changed and say goodbye.

Not all friendships are meant to last forever. People move away, schedules don’t align, interests change, you drift apart, or you just realize that you’re better off without them. This does not mean that you are a bad person for not being as close as you used to be or for realizing that some friendships just don’t last forever. It’s all apart of life, and it’s completely acceptable and okay if your friendships with old friends change.