You know… nobody really talks about how hard it is to outgrow friendships. How it feels to wake up one day and realize the people you once laughed with, cried with, and called your sisters… just don’t fit your life anymore. It’s not always because something bad happened. Sometimes, you just grow. And that growth? It can be lonely.
As a woman in my 30s, I’ve felt that shift in so many ways. Some of my closest friends moved to different cities, and no matter how much we love each other, distance changed things. Others? We just drifted apart—not because we stopped caring, but because life took us in different directions. Some of us got married, had kids, built careers, or just found ourselves in different seasons where we couldn’t show up for each other the way we used to. And that’s hard.
For a while, I wondered if I’d ever find women who truly saw me—who loved me for all that I was, the good and the messy, and who actually wanted to grow with me. And I won’t lie, there were moments I felt like I was on this journey alone.
But here’s the thing about becoming your best self—when you focus on you, on healing, on showing up as the woman you’re meant to be… like-minded souls just start to appear. Not overnight. Not all at once. But they come. They always do.
And I get it, this time of year can feel extra heavy. Seeing all the Galentine’s Day events, the girl trips, the brunches—it can make you question if you’re missing out, if you’re doing something wrong. But don’t. Don’t let that sadness creep in. Don’t let past hurt or broken friendships make you jaded.
Remember who you are. Work on you. Love on you. Because as long as your heart is open and your spirit is good, the people who are meant for you will find their way to you. Maybe not in time for this Galentine’s, but in time for a lifetime. And that’s worth the wait.
Ashley Shannet
