Expanded Vignette

– 17 September 2025

My friends and I all used to have this thing for a game called Roblox. We would constantly play this game, sometimes doing all-nighters. Back in middle school I had this friend group. My mom used to say that if she saw that I was on the phone she would immediately know who it was. Truth be told, I didn’t consider them friends. I thought of them as family. We planned everything together- outings, weekends, school projects, trips – you name it. We even made a pact saying that we’ll go to the same high school and college and grow old together. If one was missing from the group, it felt like we weren’t complete. I truly couldn’t imagine my life without them. We shared so many moments, both happy and sad. But little did I know that a single moment could destroy all of this. 

In that moment I saw my world collapsing right in front of my face. It happened all too fast that I couldn;t even process it while it was happening. I remember going home and heading straight to my room .So many emotions coming to me at once. As I was reflecting, I started asking myself: “Was it my fault? Should I have just agreed with them? Should I take the blame?” The argument just kept on replaying inside of my head.

For days, I isolated myself due to the hurt I was feeling. Although I had people beside me lending their shoulder, it didn’t stop the pain. During this time, I reminisced about everything we’ve been through together. Our secrets, lifelong promises, and just all of the memories together. Losing them felt like I lost a part of myself. I truly didn’t know what to do with myself. But with the support I had, slowly but surely I was able to get back on my feet. 

While I was recovering from this friendship breakup, I realized something very important. If I didn’t stand up for myself then, when would I have ever stood up? I also realized that I shouldn’t rely on other people’s presence to make me feel complete. This realization made me look at this whole situation from a different perspective. Although I was still a bit tender about the whole thing, it made me see this as an opportunity to grow and to take it as a lesson. I learned that not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever – and that’s okay. It may hurt, but you’ll need it for your next journey in life. Some people are only meant for a season in your life. That doesn’t mean that the time you spent with them wasn’t real or valuable. It just means that their role in your life has come to an end.

I’ve come to an understanding that your worth shouldn’t be validated by anyone besides yourself. The most important thing that matters is yourself. In society, people care too much about what others think and are scared of losing people and with that mindset, they end up losing themselves. It’s important to remember that your self being and what you think should always come first before anything else. That is something that should never be forgotten.