So today, I had a bit of a rude awakening. Technically, this has happened before, so I thought it wouldn't hurt so much again: I was wrong.

Throughout life, we all go through stages of friendships. We begin with primary school, where we first become exposed to relationships based on our level- age, interests etc. We form bonds with other children, primarily those of our own sex, and believe them to be the strongest ties in the world.

But then comes high school, and those we thought we could not live without become largely forgotten. This is the time when we are really introduced to the fragility of friendships, and where we gain the knowledge that not everyone we hold in high esteem reciprocates. We find out people talk behind our backs; we find out they lie. We find out how transient human relationship really are, how much they depend on context and the smallest of decisions to either continue, or dissolve. However, a lucky few of us manage to find friends which reverse the trend; over time, the friendships become stronger. They are cultivated into something substantial. They become a permanent fixture of our lives, and they usually remain there.

That's why it hurts so much more when these friends leave us; it is not quite so easy to forget them as it once was.