Leaving Imprints

I have been thinking about the imprints one leaves on the lives of others.  We don't always realize to what extent we are all connected.  The way we communicate with the people in our lives can impact them immensely.  Our spouses and children are at an even greater risk of being broken or uplifted by our actions toward them.  Friends can also react in unexpected ways. 

Of the friends and acquaintances I had in high school, I am not proud of all my decisions regarding them.  Looking back, I wish I had kept certain people as friends, and had not even bothered trying to fit in with others.  I was confused and disoriented as a young freshman, and I didn't see the magnitude of my everyday actions.  Unfortunately, I lost some great friends in the process of self-discovery.  I wonder if my friendship would have saved them from their own misguided actions.  We could have saved each other, and instead we fought alone.  There are certain people I still miss and wonder what if?

But wondering what if cannot solve the past.  Yet, it is hard not to feel regret for lost relationships.  I only have the future to change, and remembering the past can help change it for the good.

-Tanya