I Had Been Friends Since Kindergarten

Ashley and I had been friends since kindergarten. Along with being in the same class, we also live in the same neighborhood, which made us fast friends. We went through everything together, including friends, boys, and family problems, from then until the middle of high school. I started to develop a different friend group and Ashley was no longer the popular one out of the two of us. Then, beginning junior year, a series of events and differences led Ashley and I’s relationship to fall apart. Our relationship had a lot of aspects to it that attributed to the ending of our friendship. Up until the beginning of junior year of high school, we had very few confrontational problems. I am still not sure if this was because I was more submissive to her and let things go, or because we were in such a good place that these things did not matter. Through the analysis I have come to back to do for the sake of this paper, I have noticed prominent aspects through the chapters covered in class that led to the ending of my friendship with Ashley. The most prominent terms that apply to Ashley and I’s relationship include relationship challenges, avoiding style, indirect fighting, similarity, and passing away.

One aspect that started off the problems Ashley and I had were relationship challenges, which are events or situations that pose a threat to the relationship. Junior year held a lot of turning points in both of our lives because of these challenges. We both entered what is known as the hardest grade in high school, which caused a lot of stress outside of our friendship. I had become an upper classmen on my cross country which required me to put a lot more effort into it, which would then lead me to become a captain during my senio...

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...for me to handle all of the problems that piled up. Since our relationship took so long to end, I believe I became tired and gave up on her. Whether how I handled our relationship and the ending off it was wrong or not, I learned from it. For future situations with similar personalities, I understand that they require time and effort, and if I want to part of these relationships, I need to devote myself to them and continue to devote myself. Along with this, I also learned that sometimes you have to be selfish in life. People can be toxic and they can hurt you more than you can help them, and it is sometimes necessary to do what is best for yourself. Most importantly, I have learned that relationships are hard and they take effort, and just realizing this in itself helps by making me more aware of what serious relationships, whether platonic or romantic, take.