The Way of Life
Recently I was browsing through Facebook and saw a post from someone with whom I went to college. He was traveling from my hometown in Virginia back to my new town in SF (it’s funny because that’s his hometown and his new town in my old town). Anyways, when I saw that I thought “oh, I should have contacted him to grab lunch.” But the thing is, we were good friends really for literally one semester in college. He did have a strong impact in my life during that semester: we struggled through honors analysis homework together 2 days a week every week that semester. Then towards the end of the semester, when grades came out for that class, I told him I was too scared to get my grade myself (I really did think I failed -- I got a 50% on my final T-T). He picked me up at my dorm, and he walked with me all the way to the math building and waited as I got my grade. Thankfully it was decent, but I remember shaking a little and being so thankful for him. Looking back, I know that grade did not impact my GPA significantly and I am laughing at myself for having cared so much. At that time, however, it was just what I needed in a friend. Every time I remember him, I remember this moment: this comforting but short 30 minutes.
Since that semester, he went to study abroad for a year and then senior year when we reconnected, we saw each other probably a total of five times. All positive experiences but nothing significant. A bit of me feels sad that I lost this friendship that provided me such comfort, but part of me knows that it was very much a moment of “right place, right time”. I’m such a victim of keeping in touch even when a friendship no longer has that same connection, so I am writing this post as a way to let go in a positive way. I will always remember him as having a small but very positive impact on my life.
Afterthought: I make this sound like we had a romantic relationship, and that was definitely not the case. I just am very clingy with friends and am easily touched emotionally. :)
