Dear everyone that I have lost touch with over this last year:
1. Don't take it personally.
Because it's not. If it was or is my intention not to talk to you ever again, I will flat out tell you that. More likely than not, this is not my intention. Believe me when I say you are not special in the sense that you are the only person I have lost touch with. School is tough, and life is busy. Neither of these things has anything to do with you as a person. So, again, don't take it personally.
2. If you haven't made an effort to talk to me, you are not allowed to complain.
If you have actually tried talking to me and I haven't gotten around to responding, then OK. I'll apologize for that. But if you haven't put forth the effort to contact me at all, you cannot bitch and moan about me not reaching out to you. Yes emails, messages, and phone calls are "quick and easy", but they also work both ways. And if they are so easy to do, then it shouldn't be a problem for one to come from your end before you decide to complain about it.
3. I will not apologize for
Calling back my parents/family first, calling back my boyfriend first, not responding to your text during dinner, ignoring your phone call while I'm at school or in the library, or sleeping instead of answering your late night call or text.
4. It's ok to have short and sweet conversations sometimes.
Just because we don't have a deep and intense conversation every single week doesn't mean that I don't care. Sometimes it's easier to slip in a quick 5-minute conversation or text message than it is to dive into an hour long conversation about the meaning of life. If this is all you're looking for from me, chances are that we won't be able to talk that often. Because school is tough, and life is busy. And neither of these things has anything to do with you as a person. See #1.
5. When I make an announcement on Facebook instead of texting/emailing/calling you first
It's not because I forgot about it. It's because Facebook is the quickest way to let all of my friends know at the same time when something important has happened in my life. Truth is, unless you are family, I will probably not have the chance to call you up before I decide to make some news public. So, don't take it personally.
6. If a picture shows up on social media of me doing something fun with other people
It's not because I hate you or have replaced you or have all the free time in the world. It's because any chance that my classmates and I have to get out of the library, we will happily use it to try and enjoy this crazy thing called life. We are not doing it to spite you.
7. When I finally see you in person and you don't talk to me because you're mad
Then you're just wasting an opportunity to catch up. Again, I'm not ignoring you. Life is literally just busy. And if I don't say hello immediately, there is a 99.9998% chance that I haven't even seen you yet. So, go ahead and go out on a limb and say "Hello." It won't be that painful, I promise.
8. When someone tells/shows me that you've been talking trash behind my back
I'm 95% LESS likely to pick up the phone next time or to put forth the effort to contact you myself in the first place. School is tough, and life is busy. And quite frankly, neither of these things leave behind enough energy to try and argue with you or make you understand.
9. Sometimes people change.
And I know that I have at least a little, and my situation has changed a lot. And my situation changing most likely has nothing to do with you, so don't take it personally. So, if we don't gel as perfectly as we used to, that's ok and it's actually probably a little normal. That's just life.
10. For those of you who completely understand
Thank you. It's refreshing to be able to talk to someone after a month or so and for things to be normal. It's refreshing to have friends who won't take it personally when I don't always respond and understand that life can get crazy busy and that it has nothing to do with whether or not I still want to be their friend. Thanks for being OK with change and for sticking with me through this crazy ride.
Take away notes: School is hard. Life is busy. Don't take it personally.
And I promise to do the same whenever one day I shoot you a message and you happen to be too busy to respond.
1. Don't take it personally.
Because it's not. If it was or is my intention not to talk to you ever again, I will flat out tell you that. More likely than not, this is not my intention. Believe me when I say you are not special in the sense that you are the only person I have lost touch with. School is tough, and life is busy. Neither of these things has anything to do with you as a person. So, again, don't take it personally.
2. If you haven't made an effort to talk to me, you are not allowed to complain.
If you have actually tried talking to me and I haven't gotten around to responding, then OK. I'll apologize for that. But if you haven't put forth the effort to contact me at all, you cannot bitch and moan about me not reaching out to you. Yes emails, messages, and phone calls are "quick and easy", but they also work both ways. And if they are so easy to do, then it shouldn't be a problem for one to come from your end before you decide to complain about it.
3. I will not apologize for
Calling back my parents/family first, calling back my boyfriend first, not responding to your text during dinner, ignoring your phone call while I'm at school or in the library, or sleeping instead of answering your late night call or text.
4. It's ok to have short and sweet conversations sometimes.
Just because we don't have a deep and intense conversation every single week doesn't mean that I don't care. Sometimes it's easier to slip in a quick 5-minute conversation or text message than it is to dive into an hour long conversation about the meaning of life. If this is all you're looking for from me, chances are that we won't be able to talk that often. Because school is tough, and life is busy. And neither of these things has anything to do with you as a person. See #1.
5. When I make an announcement on Facebook instead of texting/emailing/calling you first
It's not because I forgot about it. It's because Facebook is the quickest way to let all of my friends know at the same time when something important has happened in my life. Truth is, unless you are family, I will probably not have the chance to call you up before I decide to make some news public. So, don't take it personally.
6. If a picture shows up on social media of me doing something fun with other people
It's not because I hate you or have replaced you or have all the free time in the world. It's because any chance that my classmates and I have to get out of the library, we will happily use it to try and enjoy this crazy thing called life. We are not doing it to spite you.
7. When I finally see you in person and you don't talk to me because you're mad
Then you're just wasting an opportunity to catch up. Again, I'm not ignoring you. Life is literally just busy. And if I don't say hello immediately, there is a 99.9998% chance that I haven't even seen you yet. So, go ahead and go out on a limb and say "Hello." It won't be that painful, I promise.
8. When someone tells/shows me that you've been talking trash behind my back
I'm 95% LESS likely to pick up the phone next time or to put forth the effort to contact you myself in the first place. School is tough, and life is busy. And quite frankly, neither of these things leave behind enough energy to try and argue with you or make you understand.
9. Sometimes people change.
And I know that I have at least a little, and my situation has changed a lot. And my situation changing most likely has nothing to do with you, so don't take it personally. So, if we don't gel as perfectly as we used to, that's ok and it's actually probably a little normal. That's just life.
10. For those of you who completely understand
Thank you. It's refreshing to be able to talk to someone after a month or so and for things to be normal. It's refreshing to have friends who won't take it personally when I don't always respond and understand that life can get crazy busy and that it has nothing to do with whether or not I still want to be their friend. Thanks for being OK with change and for sticking with me through this crazy ride.
Take away notes: School is hard. Life is busy. Don't take it personally.
And I promise to do the same whenever one day I shoot you a message and you happen to be too busy to respond.
Keep doing what you are doing Sioned. You have turned out to be amazing. Even though we are not blood I consider you my niece. You and your sisters I have watch grow up. People change, that is life. Keep it 100 Sioned.
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