It’s a random Thursday, and you wake up like every other day. You get up, drink your coffee, check Instagram, and start your day. Today feels like a really good day; you're smiling and laughing with your roommate, and actually really excited to see what this random Thursday has in store for you. You get dressed for class, put on your sunglasses, and head out onto campus.

Ever since that person left your life, it’s been hard to admit, but you haven't felt your absolute best lately. It doesn't matter who left who, or who said what, because no matter how you justify the situation, it's never easy to just walk away from someone who has been a significant factor in your life. Someone you shared memories with. Someone you made future plans with. Someone who became a part of you in one way or another. But you did it. Somehow, through all the tears, the pain, and sorrow, you did it. You're over it. You hated them. You stalked them. You missed them. And you loved them.

But you're over them.

And most days, you don't even think about them anymore. Okay, that might be a huge lie; you still obviously think of them. But not in the way you used to. You used to miss their presence, but now you miss them like missing your favorite place to eat. You think about memories, or places you've been with them, and get a little nostalgic. It’s like how you think of a childhood friend. Sure, you get a smile across your face, because you shared some pretty fun memories. But still, you know its over. So you smile, and you're happy that it happened, but happy that it's now just a memory. I didn't think I could get to a point where I was ready to make memories without you. Now, I can think about memories and smile because you weren’t a part of it. Those memories we shared were beautiful, and I wouldn't take them away for anything, but to me, they and you are in the past.

I wish it could all stay in the past, and that’s including you.

I think the hardest part about realizing that someone is gone from your life is that life literally moves on. All this time was spent into building something, and then just like that, it's gone. You spend all this time putting your pieces back together, and so do they. And now? You both are over each other. But the craziest factor is how much they've changed. They're doing their own thing, but they're so different. I mean, who am I to say that this new you is bad? It’s just not good for me. Sure, we’ve both have changed, grown up a little more, evolved to new things in our lives. But in that time, they have become someone you don't even know anymore. They are literally a stranger to you.

At first, you seriously don't recognize it. You think what you two had will always be frozen in time, and everything you knew about each other will forever be preserved in a book somewhere. They’ll always have that silly haircut, wear weird socks, use the same body wash, and deep, deep down, they’ll always love you in some type of way.

But then you see them.

It happens so suddenly. You never woke up on this average Thursday thinking that you would run into them. You were having this carefree day of seeing friends, doing school work, maybe even going to the gym, and all of the sudden, this feeling takes over your entire body. It’s like that feeling when you think someone might be watching you, or like a part of you is closer than usual. Your body is electrocuted, and a force is pulling you. So you look up from your phone, and there you see them. They're casually walking into the bar, and totally wearing that shirt you've always hated. Then you notice the little things, like, is their hair different? Wait, have they been working out? Who are they working out for? Does it even matter? I’ve never seen that jacket before.

And, in that moment in time, you realize the cold, lonely, hard truth: you don't know anything about this person anymore.

Someone you used to know better than they knew themselves. Sure, sure, you know their favorite rapper. You know what kind of drunken midnight snack they want. You even know about their weird scar on their ear. But you don't know that person anymore. You have no idea who they're talking to, what they did last weekend, or even what friends they still talk to. You wonder if they still use that cooler you spent three weeks making for them, or if they've seen that new movie that just came out that you two talked about seeing together. Even though you stayed up every night sharing each other's hopes, dreams, and hearts with one another, you don't even know if they still drink their coffee the same way anymore, from that little cafe we discovered together.

Its a very real moment when you realize all of this. That this person in front of you used to be the person you wanted to tell something important to first. That time didn't stand still between you two. That they have changed, just as much as you have.

Then your eyes meet. Between those moments of eye contact a million and half things are said. The memories, the kisses, the laughter, the tears, the forever and ever. That one time you went on a hike for five hours, or that one time he surprised you by cooking you dinner and buying flowers for no reason. But you don't say anything like that. You turn to each other, and even though there is a million and a half things you should say, you say a whole bunch of nothing. Ask how each other are and nonsense, then you turn away from each other and leave everything unsaid. A moment to say everything you wanted or needed to, but you don’t. You walk away, knowing that you don't know this person anymore in the slightest. That person doesn't know you. And that the person you love, or loved, no longer exists. It’s weird to think that they're someone else now, and you had no participation within that change. Whether they changed because you weren’t there we will never know. But they’re someone else now, and it hurts. Actually, it stings and makes you feel all kinds of weird. You feel dizzy and unsettled, and you don’t know what’s up or down, right or wrong. You don’t know if you made the right choice.

And, just as you're about to call him back to you, back into the now, you stop.

It washes over you, slowly but then all at once; the feeling of relief. Maybe it's thanks to a text from the guy you're talking to now. Or it was the fact that us walking away from each other right then felt absolutely right. Or maybe you took a step back and realized how much better off you are since then. Since them. You realized how much you've grown as a person.

So you smile, remember, and move on. Because life is way too short to live in the past, and you're way too fabulous to spend your time thinking about what it could've been, instead of what is, right now. And right now? Things are better than ever. I can finally breathe. And I am happy.

Here's to my past, and my past is where you will stay.