It's Not the Same Anymore

[Dogenzaka]

Recently I found a friend on Facebook that I hadn't spoken with much since 5th grade. He was my best friend in 5th grade.

After we were going to start middle school, he was going to go to a different one than I was (his was an advanced math/science jr. high school, I could have gone but I was scared of leaving my other friends)..

So we parted ways. I saw him after school every once in a while since his bus met up at my school, but we hardly saw each other once 6th grade started.

Once high school came, we both went to the same high school. I saw him a few times in Freshman Year, but I never really spoke. I don't know why.
I then became homeschooled and left the high school.

He saw my mom one day a year or so ago and asked how I was doing and gave her his number so I could call and hang out, but I never did. I don't know why.

He went off to college just a month or so ago off a sports scholarship.

I'm not sure why, but I thought of looking for him on Facebook a few days ago, and lo and behold, I found him. I messaged him and we talked a little bit, catching up on what happened in high school. He was doing great, studying business in college, and seemed happy to hear from me after all these years.

It was at this moment that it occurred to me that I foolishly let possibly one of the best friendships with one of the greatest friends I've had since I was little wither away for no reason other than I surrendered it.

I may never see my old friend again, and I just let it happen.

So my question to you is, have you ever let a friendship slip away, for whatever reasons, and regretted it? Why? For what?

[Crossroads]

Yep, sure have.
:(
But then you move on. Because you know...death and everything.

[Shadow Soldier]

Wait, he's in college...... why can't you hang out again?

Also ya I have.... NONE of my best friends from Elementary school, I talk to them any more. It's just like getting older, when you're 50 years old, you're not going to be able to see your childhood friends. It happens to everybody..... that's why you find new friends mah boy :D

[Dogenzaka]

Wait, he's in college...... why can't you hang out again?

Different state :(

Yeah but my friend and I were the kind that didn't really change like that. We didn't part ways from growing up or personal differences, I just kind of left the friendship for no real reasons IMO.

[Shadow Soldier]

We all do that... I mean, all my friends that I went to Kindergarten with, and made it through grade 9 together, none of us talk any more. It just happens, to the best of us.

[Fate of Heaven]

This happened to me when my best friend moved to Texas 2 years ago. I see him during the summer, but we're so distant now.

[Dogenzaka]

I suppose with my sappy, nostalgiac mood, it would be a bad idea to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button right now.

[scubasteve]

i actually had this friend who lived across the street from me from 4th-6th grade, and boy did i hate him. i'm pretty sure we were only friends because we lived across the street from each other, and when he moved here in 4th grade, i already spent most of my days outside with the gang on the street. ergo, we were unfortunately kinda bound together. it's kinda hard to call this a friendship. i mean, we got along sometimes, like when we were at school making jokes and just hanging out. but then you put the two of us in a competitive environment like a basketball court. i'm not a very competitive guy, but he was such a cocky ass that it brought out the worst in me as well. so when we competed it was pretty intense. when that yugioh fad hit the nation like six years ago, we were pretty obsessed with making good decks and stuff. it got so competitive to the point where one time he tried to steal my holographic summoned skull card (which is not only an exceptionally rare card but also very useful), and as i saw him trying to walk out of my house with the card in hand, i took my mini st. louis cardinals collector's baseball bat and hit him in the side. i am not proud of this incident, but i got my summoned skull card back at least.

our friendship was kinda weird. i'm pretty sure we both really disliked each other deep down, but since we lived near each other, we didn't have a choice. not only was he ridiculously cocky and competitive, he was also kind of a bitch. he liked to start fights a lot. we got in 3 actual fist fights over those three years, and i admit i got my ass kicked all three of the times. however, that is not the point. this guy brought out the worst in me. we were rivals, but not friendly rivals. i guess i just really wanted to shut him up, but admittedly he was better than me at most stuff (except at being smart, but at the age of 11 nobody cares if you're smart), so unfortunately that never worked. maybe i was jealous. i don't know, but this guy was a terrible influence on me.

he eventually moved at the end of 6th grade, and i'm really happy i'm not friends with him anymore. thanks to him, i experienced a lot of character development. i realized how stupid it is to see who's better at sports and video games, and i usually use my past experiences with him as a guide on what not to do nowadays. i talk to him on aim about once a year, and the last time i talked to him he was bragging about how he had straight a's, three girls fawning over him, and how he was the wide receiver for the football team. i felt really bad for him, so in order to make him feel better, i told him i have a cocaine and alcohol addiction, have unprotected sex daily, and that my parents have divorced and now i have to live in a trailer park with my cannabis dealer uncle. so alright, maybe i haven't changed. heh.

--

a more recent and more disappointing incident involves a friend i've been close to for about five years. over the summer he apparently became an enormous pothead and got involved in some really stupid shit. like, he got arrested for falling asleep at the wheel for being ridiculously high (didn't help that he also carried a novelty police baton in his car either). you'd think you'd learn your lesson after that, but i guess not. he got really high at taco bell once with some questionable fellas and accidentally hit a mailbox and drove into a ditch afterwards. he fled the scene (but not until after he flipped a bitch about trying to get his car out of the ditch), but eventually he's gonna get caught trying to steal a bong from k-mart or something and he's going to end up in jail. as senior year has gone on, too, i've noticed he hangs out with a lot more questionable folks and i hear about a lot of stupid antics he gets into all the time.

i mean, yeah, we're still pretty tight and we talk a lot. i don't hang out with him when he's high though, which is unfortunately most of the damn time nowadays (even though the day he came to school [most likely] high was pretty funny). it's like i don't even know him anymore. kinda disappointing, because the gang always assumed that if anyone was to go downhill, it was this fella (damn shame when those assumptions end up coming true). i don't really care if you enjoy a crisp blunt every now and then, but damn.

[Dogenzaka]

Originally Posted by scubasteve

i actually had this friend who lived across the street from me from 4th-6th grade, and boy did i hate him. i'm pretty sure we were only friends because we lived across the street from each other, and when he moved here in 4th grade, i already spent most of my days outside with the gang on the street. ergo, we were unfortunately kinda bound together. it's kinda hard to call this a friendship. i mean, we got along sometimes, like when we were at school making jokes and just hanging out. but then you put the two of us in a competitive environment like a basketball court. i'm not a very competitive guy, but he was such a cocky ass that it brought out the worst in me as well. so when we competed it was pretty intense. when that yugioh fad hit the nation like six years ago, we were pretty obsessed with making good decks and stuff. it got so competitive to the point where one time he tried to steal my holographic summoned skull card (which is not only an exceptionally rare card but also very useful), and as i saw him trying to walk out of my house with the card in hand, i took my mini st. louis cardinals collector's baseball bat and hit him in the side. i am not proud of this incident, but i got my summoned skull card back at least.

our friendship was kinda weird. i'm pretty sure we both really disliked each other deep down, but since we lived near each other, we didn't have a choice. not only was he ridiculously cocky and competitive, he was also kind of a bitch. he liked to start fights a lot. we got in 3 actual fist fights over those three years, and i admit i got my ass kicked all three of the times. however, that is not the point. this guy brought out the worst in me. we were rivals, but not friendly rivals. i guess i just really wanted to shut him up, but admittedly he was better than me at most stuff (except at being smart, but at the age of 11 nobody cares if you're smart), so unfortunately that never worked. maybe i was jealous. i don't know, but this guy was a terrible influence on me.

he eventually moved at the end of 6th grade, and i'm really happy i'm not friends with him anymore. thanks to him, i experienced a lot of character development. i realized how stupid it is to see who's better at sports and video games, and i usually use my past experiences with him as a guide on what not to do nowadays. i talk to him on aim about once a year, and the last time i talked to him he was bragging about how he had straight a's, three girls fawning over him, and how he was the wide receiver for the football team. i felt really bad for him, so in order to make him feel better, i told him i have a cocaine and alcohol addiction, have unprotected sex daily, and that my parents have divorced and now i have to live in a trailer park with my cannabis dealer uncle. so alright, maybe i haven't changed. heh.

--

a more recent and more disappointing incident involves a friend i've been close to for about five years. over the summer he apparently became an enormous pothead and got involved in some really stupid shit. like, he got arrested for falling asleep at the wheel for being ridiculously high (didn't help that he also carried a novelty police baton in his car either). you'd think you'd learn your lesson after that, but i guess not. he got really high at taco bell once with some questionable fellas and accidentally hit a mailbox and drove into a ditch afterwards. he fled the scene (but not until after he flipped a bitch about trying to get his car out of the ditch), but eventually he's gonna get caught trying to steal a bong from k-mart or something and he's going to end up in jail. as senior year has gone on, too, i've noticed he hangs out with a lot more questionable folks and i hear about a lot of stupid antics he gets into all the time.

i mean, yeah, we're still pretty tight and we talk a lot. i don't hang out with him when he's high though, which is unfortunately most of the damn time nowadays (even though the day he came to school [most likely] high was pretty funny). it's like i don't even know him anymore. kinda disappointing, because the gang always assumed that if anyone was to go downhill, it was this fella (damn shame when those assumptions end up coming true). i don't really care if you enjoy a crisp blunt every now and then, but damn.

Cool story, bro.

No but srsly, like you said in the second story, that's happened to me before quite a bit. Some of my closest friends took the wrong path and I just don't hang out with them anymore because of it. Their loss, though, I suppose, and less mine.

[Gunmetal]

Maybe you should stop taking people for granted.

Especially those that still make the effort to try and contact you when you don't make any effort in return.

[Crossroads]

Originally Posted by Gunmetal

Maybe you should stop taking people for granted.

Especially those that still make the effort to try and contact you when you don't make any effort in return.

NICE.
I like that one.

[Radon]

This is really similar to me. I used to be best friends with a guy in primary school (Australia's elementary) but when we went to different high schools we kept in contact every now and then but then we just don't really talk anymore. Like the title of this thread says, it's not the same anymore. I really don't have a clue why..

[The Conquerer]

Umm, not really. I've had many friends growing up, but only three of them I would probably consider my best friends. This one guy I knew since I was one (he was three), we grew up together and eventually, he had to move. I gone through High School while he took up boxing and made a bit of a career out of it. Then, when I started to take up Muay Thai, I saw him at my gym training. We caught up a little, but he's on with his life, and I'm glad that I was able to see him, one last time.

I have another friend I knew since 3rd grade, and despite us being seprated since 5th grade, we've found a way to hang out. My immediately family are cool with his, so we are more like bros than anything else. I don't get to see him that often, but eventually, his parents and himself wants to see me, so we chill every now and then. He had to leave the city when I was in 5th grade, but we are closer than ever. I haven't talked to him in light two months (as he gone off to college) but the connection between us can never be lost.

My other friend is also cool with the previous one above. We all met in 3rd grade. He's more like my rival in everything.lol In school (though back then we weren't the smartest guys around), in girls, martial arts, games; anything. In at the end of 7th grade, we parted ways, though we still managed to hang out at the mall or just chill. I haven't talked to him in a month or so because I had to get me a lap top and I was out of a computer for a long time. Also, my phone service was jacked up, but now, everything is cool, so I can drop a notice if I wanted.

I have made a lot of friends in High School, though I'm sure most of them will never end up as close as the previous three, so I can risk losing those. But if I can, I suppose I can stay intacted in friendships with those that graduated with me this year.

[Dogenzaka]

Maybe you should stop taking people for granted.

Especially those that still make the effort to try and contact you when you don't make any effort in return.

Well DUH I get that now, that's what happens when you look back on things you did 1-3 years ago and regret your decisions. lol.

Oh and graduation screws up like every friendship you make in high school :/

[i eat dark]

yeah it happen to me.
when i was 6 i had a friend,he was the first friend i made >.< we use to hang alot together we were like brothers but when i was around 9 or 10 i moved to mexico... we talk on the phone once in a while but after a year we stop for some reason. 2 years later i went back to dallas and went to visit him but it wasnt the same,things had change and we didnt talk like we use to. but once again i moved to mexico and ever since i havent seen him... its really suckz because we were really close and everytime i think about it...it brings me down, but im hoping of going back to dallas in a year so i might be able to see him again and hang out like we use to...\

sorry for my bad spelling,its 2:00 am and im sleepy....so i cant type well