Dear Tammy

Forgone Friendships

Devna Panda

Hey Tammy!

Remember me?

It was the fall of freshman year, the air fraught with newness and possibility. We were standing in the Middlebrook dining hall line, waiting for our pesto alfredo pasta. You turned to me and gave me a compliment, eager to be friends. Shortly afterwards, we exchanged Snapchats as one does with strangers in the first few weeks of freshman year, and I was confident that I might have just met one of my soon-to-be besties. 

In those initial moments of arriving on campus, there are so many lovely people that you meet. Given sheer time constraints, the likelihood of each and every one of them becoming your new best friend is incredibly improbable. And yet, meeting so many individuals with whom I shared a commonality, I began to wish there was time for individual friendships with all of the people I felt strong friendship potential with.

Like you, Tammy! When we run into each other in the mall, I’m blown away by the fact that you always stop to strike up a conversation. Though we always say we’re going to make the time to hang out, it’s just one of those plans that ends up falling by the wayside. 

As thankful as I am for all of the lovely relationships I have in my life, it can be difficult not to mourn what might have been. When I consider how these forgone friendships might have fit into my life, I cannot help but wonder if I missed out. Yet, all I can say is that hopefully things happen in the way they do for a reason.

Well Tammy, let me know if you’d want to grab boba this week. Until then, we can keep watching each other’s lives from afar on Snapchat and catch up on the way to class. 

Sincerely,

Devna