Most of my friends are not people that I've had my entire life by my side.

I sometimes feel like I'm missing out on that girl next door scenario where you know each other's darkest secrets and you have lived through every setback together. It's the same with relationships.

While I've had a handful of boyfriends, there's no one guy where I've been with him for years and years. Maybe it's because I'm young. Or maybe it's because I'm not the same person I was 5 years ago, or maybe even 1 year ago. Relationships grow over time, and I'm a strong believer in having people that grow with you. Your best friend now may not be the best person for you in a year's time. And that's because when you're young (like I obviously am at the tender age of nineteen), you're changing more than you're staying the same.

I think that the best thing you can do to help yourself is evaluate your friendships and your relationships from time to time.

If someone isn't helping you grow as a person, if someone isn't bringing out the best in yourself, maybe it's time to let that person go. This especially comes into play with the importance of moving on from toxic friends. I've always been a confrontational person which I think has served me well. I never stand passively by when someone says something that hurts me. But this can also be a disservice because it gets me fired up about things that don't really matter. I definitely need to get better at letting things go.

However, moving on from friends doesn't always mean you are letting go of someone toxic.

Maybe you're moving far away as I did for college. I don't talk to my old friends from home every second of the day, but when I do come back to visit we still respect each other and care about each other. I have friends who I used to go to camp with and used to visit all of the time because we lived a few hours from each other. But life gets in the way and we fell out of each other's lives.

My point is that I think it's healthy to embrace change because change is important for personal growth and growth in our relationships that we cultivate.