Golden Bonds: Cherished Memories of Friendship and Life’s Changing Stages

Hello dear friends, how are you? I hope you all are doing great. Today I have come up with the feeling that I am going through today and I want to express myself here to help myself relieve the stress I am going through, I am hopeful that I’ll be able to express myself clearly, and it would turn out to be a worthwhile read for you.

Since humans are social animals and need to be around other humans, a person cannot live in isolation. Humans require the presence of others, either directly or indirectly, as they depend on them for various needs throughout life—from birth to death. To fulfil these needs and responsibilities, the presence of others is essential, and no one in the world can disagree with this fact.

I, too, am a human and need others in my life. Initially, in a primary sense, my family was and still is very important to me and will always remain so. Then, as I grew older, I realized the importance of friends and teachers during my school years. After leaving school, the people I work with or those connected to me in any way have also become essential to me.

All the people living in our neighbourhood seem to belong to the same economic status, or to put it simply, middle-class families. When we started school, there was no distinction about who was rich or poor. We all sat together without any such feelings and became close over time. As we grew older and passed a few grades, this habit of being together transformed into friendship—a bond that became stronger than any other.

This bond is even greater than blood relations because here, you can share everything easily, whether it’s something good or bad. It’s often said that a person becomes good in good company and bad in bad company. Thankfully, for me, all my friends from school have been good people and come from respectable families. We all share a similar environment and live in the same way, which has helped strengthen our bond.

As we grew older, the importance of each other in our lives increased, and we became more closely connected. When we left our first school, it was an emotional moment, and we all decided to enrol in the same school together—and that’s exactly what we did. After some time, when we had to leave that school too and move on to higher secondary education, we again decided to study together because by then, we couldn’t imagine being apart.

Then came the turn for college. At this stage, some of our friends parted ways because they chose different professions—some according to their interests and some under pressure from their families. This, of course, is part of destiny. Even so, after college, we would still see each other in the evenings, keeping alive that sense of being close to one another.

After finishing college, there was a period when we were all unemployed, with nothing to earn. During that time, we all stood on the same ground—no one was ahead, and no one was behind. However, as some of us found employment, a gap began to emerge. Those whose jobs were delayed started falling behind, and now, even though a few more friends have secured employment, some are still left behind.

The purpose of sharing this is to highlight how it has become difficult for us to stay as closely connected as we used to. Yes, we still meet occasionally and share moments, but life is no longer the same.

Our lives have gone through many phases, and we have always stood by each other. Now, life has entered a new chapter where our responsibilities are gradually replacing the carefree life of our childhood, putting us to a new test. Our parents are ageing, and their working years are behind them. It is now our turn to earn and take care of not only ourselves but also our families and parents.

My friends and I, who never used to think about such things and believed that time would always remain the same, have come to realize that everything has changed drastically in just a few years. About two years ago, my friends started getting married, and we reached the age for it. In a few more years, all of us will inevitably be married too.

When one of my friends got married first, his life changed in ways we never imagined. He Forget about meeting us,even talking to us became a rare occurrence. He became busy with his work, new relationships, and responsibilities. Initially, we felt as if he was doing this intentionally, but as time passed and more of our friends got married, we noticed the same thing happening with them.

Now, our once large friend circle has shrunk to just a few close friends. Although our bond of friendship remains intact, the life we used to share is no longer the same. We don’t spend as much time together as we once did.

Now, all of us friends have become busy with our own lives. While our bond of friendship remains the same, the time we once spent together has now become rare and invaluable. These changes are a natural part of life. When we were younger, we thought life would always stay the same, but as time moved on, that feeling gradually turned into the opposite.

Now, though we are at an age where we can travel and enjoy, there’s no one to accompany us. The people with whom we spent our entire lives are now engrossed in their own. They no longer have time for us. While we all have money, I don’t believe anyone feels the same happiness they used to. This is a compulsion of life, and slowly, we adapt to it. It’s just another stage of life, one that everyone has to pass through.

Speaking of my personal feelings, I often wish that we had never left that earlier stage of life. If it were up to me, I would turn back time and return to that carefree childhood. But such is the wheel of life—it only moves forward, bringing new turns along the way. All we are left with now are the memories of the time spent with friends. Those golden memories, however, will always keep life beautiful.

Thank you, and have a great time ahead