<span class="dropcap-Weekend">L</span>ast year, I lost touch with two of my friends, whom I considered myself close to. No altercation caused this to happen. When trying to talk to them about it, I was reassured they were not upset with me, but were simply too busy living their lives to answer any of my phone calls or text messages. At the beginning, I was certain I had done something to upset them, so I kept calling and texting to try to get an answer as to why this sudden change in behaviour had occurred. I have known one of these girls a long time, and have always felt we grew up together. I remember calling her one day, and the conversation going well; she didn’t seem angry with me. This encouraged me to accept her invitation to a girls’ gathering at her place. I really wanted to see her, talk to her and make things right between us. But as soon as she laid eyes on me, it was clear she wasn’t happy to see me. I was very embarrassed, and wished that I hadn’t gone. I’m socially awkward, don’t make friends fast, and for whatever reason, don’t connect easily with many people. So I held our bond dear; I opened up to her, and let my guard down. We have a lot in common, come from similar backgrounds, love the same books and music. So the feeling when a friend of years, who you trusted and opened up to, turns her back on you and rejects you is heartbreaking. So I had to learn to let go. I had to accept that the friendship was over. It’s sad, but if it ended, it ended for a reason. It was a lesson in life learnt the hard way, but looking back on it, I now know it was for the best. Through this experience, I’ve learnt that being on my own is fine, and I have become more confident and comfortable on my own. It’s much better than being around people who don’t care about you. I have learnt to appreciate and love the people who never turned their backs on me – those who never stopped believing in me. I talked to my older sister about the situation. Her advice was to stop thinking about it, and try to forgive them, because bitterness is a horrible feeling. This experience has made me see the need to be more selective of the people whom I call friends. I need to learn to eliminate toxic people from my life, regardless of our history or the closeness we once shared. I have ceased all contact with these girls and moved on with my life. I’m focusing on my other friends and myself. It’s sad when I recall all the great times we had together, and what I thought my life would be with them in it. But I need to accept that they don’t want me as a friend anymore. More importantly, the one thing I have learnt from this is to stop questioning why they don’t want to be friends. The reasons why someone doesn’t want you in their life is not your problem – it’s theirs. Fawzia Abdul Rahman works for the Abu Dhabi Government.