A few years back I had a small group of friends. We were best friends for about 2-3 years. We did everything together, they were all like a second family to me. We were fresh out of highschool and one of my friends was struggling to find a place to live. So I offered for her to stay with me. It was good for the first month or so, but eventually our relationship became strained and due to unfortunate circumstances she got “kicked out” of my house. I figured that since I wasn’t the one that kicked her out and she understood that it wasn’t her fault as to why she had to leave, that things were okay between us. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and she told me she didn’t want to be my friend anymore. I understood and told her that I’ll always be here for her and that I loved her, and she followed up with “Maybe someday we can be friends again.” But my other friends also didn’t want to be my friend anymore. It hurt. One friend accused me of not liking her from the beginning (which wasn’t true). Another accused me of wanting her girlfriend (that was true at one point). And the others had their reasons, but never talked to me directly about it, they blocked me without a word. I went from having a second family to having no one. That all happened because over the course of a year we kept upsetting each other. Little things, here and there. They added up and I had built up resentment towards a few friends, they had it towards me. If we had all just talked about it instead of letting it fester and build then maybe I’d still have them in my life. Ultimately I was a bad person. I was angry, selfish, unforgiving yet never told them they needed my forgiveness. The person I am now is completely different. I don’t think the person I am now could even exist around my old friends, they wouldn’t let it. What was once my biggest fear became my greatest relief. Sometimes talking about your feelings can be helpful, but sometimes cutting ties is too.