Let The Past Go Up In Flames

They always said "Best Friends Forever", but eventually you'll learn that nothing last forever because they also say people change. But whenever you tell someone you love that they've changed, it only starts a fight.

This is what happened when I ended my fight.

It was late August in Nova Scotia, Canada. I opened my bedroom window to let some air circulate. I checked my reflection in my mirror and caught a glimpse of the photo stuck in the corner.

Myself and two other girls sat smiling wide in the picture. Gwen and Melissa were my best friends, my only friends. But one of the girls I hadn't spoken to in almost two months.

Thinking back on my summer I realized that I had traveled, I had bought new clothes. I had tried new things and I had made new friends.

I stood looking in my mirror and wondered if any of this could have even happened if I was still friends with her, with Gwen.

We'd all been an inseparable friendship for almost 3 years, but towards the end of grade 9 Gwen changed.

She was always with her boyfriend, but would get mad when Melissa and I did things without her.

She became controlling and cranky whenever she talked to us. She was rude and didn't listen to what we said. She only cared about her problems and her life and no one else's.

I didn't know what to do. Melissa didn't know what to do. So we did what we knew, we tried to talk to Gwen but she wouldn't listen. She said she wasn't any different and that it was us. But how could this be true when we both noticed her changing?

Friendship can be hard, but it shouldn't be. It's supposed to be fun, easy, and feel just right. It's not something you need to worry about or stress over. The people you choose to hang around with are the people you should trust and like.

Gwen had lost my trust, and I stopped enjoying being around her. How can you trust someone who doesn't listen to you and who yells at you for talking?

I remembered wanting to go to the movies with a group of friends but Gwen didn't like them so she got mad when I suggested it.

I remembered Melissa having a sleepover with a girl from our class and Gwen not talking to Melissa for days.

Friends don't get controlling and jealous like this, friends are supposed to support you.

I sighed and shook the thoughts of Gwen out of my head. When Melissa and I confronted her about changing it just turned into a fight and since then neither Melissa nor I had seen or talked to Gwen.

Summer was almost over and we were about to start high school. I wanted a fresh start and I needed to leave the thoughts of Gwen behind. If I couldn't move on I would just end up hating her, and that's not what I wanted.

Just because I didn't want to be best friends didn't mean we had to be enemies.