I've been contemplating some of the Anais Nin quotes I posted last week, particularly the one about people wanting to elect certain states and remain in them, and I've realized that at age 27 I would have been perfectly happen to remain in the state I was in, with few, if any changes, for the majority of my adult life.
I was settled. I had my life, I had my group of friends, a group that I thought was so tight-knit that I imagined us in 15-20 years, with or without children, fabulous as ever, brunching at the newest NYC hot spot like in Sex and The City. But, something dawned on me today. I'm 27. Most of the people who are currently important in my life I have met in the past 5 years. Others I've known for 10, and the oldest friends I have been in my life for almost 15 years (I chalk this partially up to moving around a lot during my childhood and early adolescence). Of everyone I knew from 15 years ago, I have kept 6 of them close. Of everyone I knew from 10 years ago, I have kept 2 close. Of everyone I met 5 years ago, I consider most of them to be aquaintances more than anything else, yet I'm quite certain that in another few years, some of them will have become obsolete in my life and others will play much more important roles.
What I came to realize is that in every stage of life, we have friends that speak to our wants and our needs at that given time. To find that you have graduated from a stage in your life and retained a friendship that was initially formed in the previous stage is a stroke of luck. This has been the case for me as I graduated high school and college, changed jobs, and when I moved from the suburbs to the city, and I know that it will continue to happen this way in the future.
From this day forward, I'm going to stop being so hung up on the fact that my life is changing in terms of the friendships I have with people. This is an inescapable part of life, and I am lucky to have even retained the number of friends I have.
"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person."
-W. Somerset Maugham
"It happens as you grow up; you find out who you are, and what you want, and then you find out that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. And so you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on."
I was settled. I had my life, I had my group of friends, a group that I thought was so tight-knit that I imagined us in 15-20 years, with or without children, fabulous as ever, brunching at the newest NYC hot spot like in Sex and The City. But, something dawned on me today. I'm 27. Most of the people who are currently important in my life I have met in the past 5 years. Others I've known for 10, and the oldest friends I have been in my life for almost 15 years (I chalk this partially up to moving around a lot during my childhood and early adolescence). Of everyone I knew from 15 years ago, I have kept 6 of them close. Of everyone I knew from 10 years ago, I have kept 2 close. Of everyone I met 5 years ago, I consider most of them to be aquaintances more than anything else, yet I'm quite certain that in another few years, some of them will have become obsolete in my life and others will play much more important roles.
What I came to realize is that in every stage of life, we have friends that speak to our wants and our needs at that given time. To find that you have graduated from a stage in your life and retained a friendship that was initially formed in the previous stage is a stroke of luck. This has been the case for me as I graduated high school and college, changed jobs, and when I moved from the suburbs to the city, and I know that it will continue to happen this way in the future.
From this day forward, I'm going to stop being so hung up on the fact that my life is changing in terms of the friendships I have with people. This is an inescapable part of life, and I am lucky to have even retained the number of friends I have.
"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person."
-W. Somerset Maugham
"It happens as you grow up; you find out who you are, and what you want, and then you find out that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. And so you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on."
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