You know whats a weird feeling? Having a friend move miles and miles away and the first time they call you since the big move, to actually want to click “ignore” on your phone screen. I’ve never felt it before, not with this friend, but i’ve definitely wanted to. Her names Kristen, or at least, thats what I’ll be calling her on here. Kristen was one of my first female friends that i’ve felt this close to. Sure, i’ve had other girl friends in the past but compared to Kristen, they all felt like mere acquaintances.

When you watch tv, you see all these female friendships. and as a girl growing up, i don’t give a shit what you say, you wanted a girl-on-girl friendship like you see in tv shows and movies. and honestly, with the increase in technology, that seems to be less and less possible. and in this girl, Kristen, i felt i’d found that tv perfect friendship. I could go over her house whenever, any time any day and her family would welcome me even if she wasn’t home. I could call her family with problems and she could call mine with hers. Her and i saw each other generally a few times a week and had sleepovers most weekends,.

but she started changing. She got more selfish, more self centered. When i went over her house to talk about stuff with her, she started just changing the subject back to her, she started to get into different sorts of things. She started going to high school parties, and not inviting me. She started hooking up with guys and i’d hear about it in school, not from her, but from rumors that Kristen was an easy lay. She started doing naughty things for weed and attention. She started hanging out with shady people in shady parts of town. and nothing i said mattered.

My opinion didn’t matter, it didn’t count. I knew nothing, i didn’t know what she was going through. I was the curvy mixed friend. She was the skinny blonde. I was “just jealous” that she was getting attention. and it just escalated. I wanted to get out of the friend ship, but what if something happened to her?

What if Kristen needed me and i wasn’t there? At this point, her family had stopped trusting her – she was stealing money from them and lying constantly. And what was i supposed to do when they called me, her best friend, to make sure she didn’t lie when she said she was going to my house and i had no idea where she actually was? I felt guilty, like i had to be there for her because if i wasn’t, who else would be? She had made it so she had no one else. and with the path she was headed down, i couldn’t very well abandon her.

It was a stressful experience, being her friend, and she started making me feel bad about myself. A friend is supposed to be someone you go to to get encouragement and to help you feel confident and happy in your own skin. She was doing the exact opposite. I came home from seeing her every time feeling worse about myself. I felt like the ugly friend, always. Like the fat friend, always. Like the one who wasn’t worth the time of day. All i wanted was a friend. and i had one, only to have her change into a completely different person throughout high school.

After we graduated, neither of us went to college right away. I had hoped, so much, that we would be able to part ways after high school peacefully and naturally, and that i wouldn’t have to be the douchebag friend that “needs to talk about something” with her. but that never happened.

Now, a year after high school, shes finally finally moved away. Not for college, but for personal reasons. I’ve never felt more relieved. Shes been gone about 4 days and contacted me directly for the first time after various instagram tags. I was at work and had to ignore it but when i texted her asking if it was something important and she said no, it felt good. It felt good to know that if i don’t want to, i don’t have to call her back.  I don’t have to keep in contact with her. I can be my own person and make my own friends and i can once again feel good when i look in the mirror. I feel good. Its a nice change.  But it is weird. I don’t feel like its a big loss. Sure, i cried at first when i thought about my best friend leaving. but I’m actually happy. and not only for myself, hopefully, this will be a good change for her, too.

I want everything to work out for both of us, But i think that for everything to work out for both of us, our friendship needs to end. I’m ready to leave it in the past and i feel like finally, Kristen is too.

Anna