I decided to write on outgrowing a friendship. the essay is 621 words long and i believe that it is a pretty good length. i could kick myself for being the queen of the procrastinators. i know the deadline is today but i would really appreciate some insight on anything; grammar, flow, content, everything!
Option 2: The late-eighteenth-century popular philosopher and cultural critic George Lichtenberg wrote, "Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc. at times before they're worn out and at times-and this is worst of all-before we have new ones." Write an essay about something you have outgrown, perhaps before you had a replacement-a friend, a political philosophy, a favorite author, or anything that has had an influence on you. What, if anything, has taken its place?
I have outgrown several things in my life. The elaborate life of my Barbie dolls. The idea that an ostrich lived in my closet and that it had a desire to kill me. From my favorite pair of jeans at age ten to my desire to be a panther, I outgrew them all. All those are manageable to get over and can even be easily replaced. But the worse and most painful thing to grow out is a longtime friend. And to feel the void that they leave behind once they are gone.
We met at the tender age of seven through a forced play date. That in itself could have been an indicator that it would not last. Being the only girls in the neighborhood, we quickly became attached at the hip. For almost ten years, we were like sisters. Rarely did she ever leave my house to spend time with her own family and our sleepovers would often follow one after the other. We planned a road trip, life in college and life after. We shared ideas of our future as well as our intricate zombie apocalypse plans. But time changes things and we were no exception. Perhaps it was because we knew each other for so long that our issues were overflowing each other's cup and they finally went over the brim. Even though I have spent half of my life with her, we are by far no two peas in a pod.
It is probable that we have been slowly drifting from each other without realizing it. Even if we did recognize it, it was possible that we had been holding on to the meaningless title of 'friend' so we didn't lose the part of ourselves that each other had made. At least I was still holding on. It is naïve of me to believe that there was absolutely nothing else going on in her life than our friendship, but it was her lack of interest that I believe was a major factor in its demise. Perchance, this was a sign that she outgrew me first and I missed the memo. Either way, I think that it was time for me to finally outgrow her because she was no longer the friend I knew and I was probably no longer the same to her. Our friendship had turned into a matter of convenience where she would only call on me when she had no other options. I soon realized that I was just hurting myself by keeping false titles and that I was breaking under the crumbling pillar of the relationship. To save myself, I have forced myself to move on from it and accept it for what it was becoming.
I do not hate her or myself because if I do begin to, I am blaming a completely natural phenomenon on one of us. Even though I have grown out of the friendship, I could not possibly forget it; for she was my friend and in a way, will always be my friend. I have had so many memories that involve just the two of us and I cannot forget this fallen friendship because it was such a fundamental state in my childhood. There can be no replacement for a childhood friendship because the wounds are too deep to heal properly. But what it leaves behind can teach me a few things about letting go and making new friendships and how to handle them when they inevitably end in the same way. My only hope is that in the years to come I will come to terms with the ever flowing currents of change more and never start to regret the decision to finally move forward.
thanks!
'We planned many things; a road trip for the summer after we graduated high school, our college life and how she was going to live in my basement when I got married.'
--better?
i tried to avoid cliches but they always seem to slip through. :(
maybe instead -->
'Even though I have spent half of my life with her, we are by far not beings of the same soul.'
thanks for your insight!
