You know that feeling when you're supposed to be excited? Supposed to be looking FORWARD? Everyone was like, "Oh, college! New chapter! SO much fun!" And yeah, it IS. It is fun. For them. I see the pics. The dorm parties. The late-night study sessions with new friends. And I'm just… here. Back in our hometown. Working the same shitty part-time job I had in high school. While they're off living their BEST lives. My group chat, the one we used to blow up every single day, it's dead. Like, crickets. One person sends a meme, maybe once a week. Someone else likes it. That's it. We used to be inseparable. Always together. Planning everything. Now I'm lucky if I get a "lol" back. It's not their fault. I get it. New places, new people. You gotta make new connections. But does it have to be like this? Like we were never even friends in the first place? I try. I really do. I send links to stupid stuff we used to laugh at. Ask how their classes are going. Always me. Always initiating. And the replies… they're so short. So… final. Like they're checking off a box. I feel like a goddamn ANNOYANCE. Like I'm clinging on to something that’s already gone. Maybe it's selfish, but I just… miss them. I miss us. The way things were. You wonder if it's just you. If you're the only one who feels this disconnect. This gaping hole where your people used to be. Like everyone else just… moved on, no problem. And you're stuck in this weird in-between. Not a high schooler anymore, but not really a college kid either. Just kinda… floating. And the thought of trying to make new friends here? It feels IMPOSSIBLE. Like, what do I even say? What if I'm just… boring now? And what if these friendships, the ones I thought would last FOREVER, what if they're just… over. And I have to just accept that. It's a lonely feeling. A really, really lonely feeling.