We make new friends very often. We make friends every time we move to a new class. We make friends every time we join a new CCA. We make friends every time you shift to a new workplace. They are important to our lives as they are able to help us with many things. When we fall behind on studies, we have our friends in class to help us catch up. When we are feeling down and need someone to talk to, our friends are always available. When we are stuck at home during the holidays having nothing to do, friends are there to hang out with.

Unfortunately, friends are not as permanent as siblings. They do drift away because of constraints. For example, I had made many friends in primary school, but because we were all posted to different secondary schools, I started to chat with them less. I have even lost contact with some of them. When I mentioned this to others, they sympathized with me. They believed that it is sometimes quite painful to lose contact with someone whom you have shared some happy memories with. However, I disagree to some extent. The reason why they drift away is because we have found new friends to mix around with. Furthermore, such a process is very gradual, over a couple of years, sometimes longer, and so you will not feel much about it.

I have a friend who has just been shifted to another institution. Within a month, he seems to neglect his friends from his former institution. When I asked him to go out with me, he told me that he is going with his new friends instead. This saddens me. This is not just a case of "drifting away"; to me it seems more like "teleportation". One part of me feels happy for him for making new friends, but the other stronger part of me feels sad as this forces us to be further apart. Perhaps one reason I may feel this way is because I currently do not belong to any institution and hence still remember about friends in my former institution.

As far as I do not want to contradict myself, I find that if I were to put myself in his shoes, I will find myself having to make a tough decision. It is like forgoing either the past or the future. But for me, I will choose the latter. In the state of excitement, you want to know more about your new friends and want to go out more often with them, but there are still many chances in the future to do that. Once you forgo the past, it is very hard to make up for it. Once you choose it, and regret it later on, you can only learn from your mistake and make sure you do not make the same mistake again. The more mundane choice has a better advantage in the long run.