It is really difficult to write this, but it is what it is. Being a human sometimes really sucks. We have these different milestones we hit and with those milestones often comes change. And I am a firm believer that for the most part change is a positive thing. But what if that change has negative outcomes?
Stephanie and I have been friends for roughly 4 years. We had an instant connection and bonded over a lot of our similar upbringings and values. And we always said that it was like meeting the person on the other side of the wall. Well, 4 years is a long time, and in that time I have grown and Steph has grown. But are we growing in opposite directions? Starting a business with your best friend sounds like a dream, but for us, it is honestly sometimes a nightmare. We work very differently, and even though our goals for Cycle Chats are the same, how we want to get there is oftentimes very different.
Stephanie is creative, funny, extroverted, a romantic, often times bites off more than she can chew, and is like the embodiment of organized chaos.
I am judgemental, hard-working, bitter, introverted, a planner, honest, quiet, emotional, a people pleaser, and I am often times hardest on myself.
We are imperfect people who are both just doing our best.
Right now Stephanie is figuring out who fifteen-year-old Stephanie always wanted to be. While I have a five-year plan with my husband for a bigger house, kids, travel, and where we want to be in our careers.
Neither Stephanie nor I am right or wrong in the way we are living, but we just butt heads a lot because of where we are in our lives right now.
So how do these two people who love each other move forward? And can we move forward?
It’s often funny when the universe talks to you. I was scrolling on Instagram and a friend had posted this…
“To love someone long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the people they used to be.” - Heidi Priebe
We will never be the same people we were yesterday. I love who Stephanie is becoming, I just often feel like I need to protect her from herself, and maybe that is my own savior complex coming through. All I know is we all go through ebbs and flows. We all have said things we wish we could take back. We all make judgements. We all work differently.
But I am lucky to be friends with Stephanie, it is not always sunshine and roses, but when we hit moments like this we get to learn from them.
Remember, we are all individual people, so be kind, do your best, try to move forward, and remember tomorrow is a new day.
Love always your Cycle Half,
Emily