Shift Happens: The Friends That Stayed, The Ones That Left

I used to chase people who left; now I cherish the ones who stayed.

Friendship in nursing? Random.
As in sobrang random. May tahimik, may madaldal, may serious, may bugnaw ug face pero kabuang kaayo. I love it that way — kasi in every kind of friend, I also discover a new version of me. I can be loud, soft, clingy, quiet — whatever feels right in the moment. They make me feel like I belong, even when I’m still figuring myself out.

But not all friendships last.
There was this one friend — one of the best, actually. She was funny, random, and someone I really connected with. We clicked instantly. Then one day, boom — nagkalayo mi. Walay klaro nga reason, walay closure. I knew I had my faults too; I was immature back then, I admit that. Pero what hurt most was losing not just her, but the bond that used to feel unbreakable.

Even now, I still think about her. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, like there’s a small wound that never really healed. But deep inside, my heart’s still open for her. Because no matter what happened, she’ll always have a special place in my story.

That friendship taught me something important — never lose yourself just because someone left. Friendships end, yes, but you remain. You grow. You heal.

And when I thought I’d lost everything, God sent new people — friends who stayed when I was at my lowest. The ones who didn’t ask too many questions, they just stayed. The kind of friends who help you find light again when you can’t see it yourself.

I owe a lot to them. They helped me grow, not by fixing me, but by reminding me that I was never broken to begin with.

To the friend I lost, if ever you read this, I just hope you heal from the things you never told us about. I hope you grow and learn how to handle pain without breaking what’s good. I hope your new friends care for you the way we once did.

And to the friends who stayed — thank you. For choosing to stay. For seeing me when others turned away.

Because maybe that’s what friendship really means,
Not who stays the longest, but who stays when it matters the most. 💛

She may never come back, but I did — to myself.