Not everyone who you consider to be important right now is going to stay in your life forever. It’s just a simple fact of life.

Some may see it as depressing and pessimistic; others may view it as a testament to the ever-changing nature of our lives. These people, who we think are permanent fixtures in our world but are actually only temporary, impact us in different ways. These people, who go from best friend or boyfriend to stranger, may have no reason to do so. Maybe you just drifted apart. The conversation became old. Life moved fast and you changed. People will ask, “why aren't you friends anymore?” and you don’t truly know the answer. We all have these types of people, the ones that we go from talking to every second of every day to knowing about their life only through an Instagram post.

Regardless of if they are in our lives for a week, a few months, or twenty years, when they exit, they become people we look back on nostalgically. We think of them as we pass their houses, as we remember an inside joke, or maybe as we feel loss once again in a different form. Things around us remind us of them and the role they played in our life, but we hesitate to send them a text saying “thinking of you!” because they no longer hold permanent importance. We feel awkward talking to people that once were a part of 99 percent of our conversations, and often wish we could reach out but don’t quite know how, because although there was never an official fight or reason for the falling out, things just aren’t the same.

We hope that the ex-best friend we drift apart from are doing well, going after the dream job they always fantasized about, figuring things out with their on-again/off-again boyfriend. Thanks to them, we know what it’s like to have someone to confide in and share jokes with. We hope that the ex-boyfriend is moving on, still doing the same things he used to love to do with someone new. Thanks to them, we know how to get over heartbreak. Most of all, we hope that these people, who were temporarily so vital to our happiness, are thinking of us and hoping the same. And we thank them, because although we don’t talk much anymore, they taught us something. Permanent people are with us forever to stay by our side and keep teaching us lessons until we grow old together, but temporary people play a role in who we are too.