collisions.

"People will walk in and out of your life all the time. Sometimes they come right when you need them to, and other times they leave right when you don't want them to. Either way, they'll leave marks that you keep with you wherever you go."

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how many people are constantly walking in and out of my life, and what a huge impact they can create. I like to consider the moments when people walk into my life as collisions. Predicting the time of these collisions is nearly impossible, and sometimes I do not even realize how big of an impact the collusion will make until the "dust" seems to settle. As I look back on my experiences with these moments of impact, I know I keep these experiences marked in my heart wherever I go. Some collisions have caused pain and heartache, but at one point or another, each and every one has created happiness that I can appreciate no matter how long or short the time was when that happiness lasted.

I have been lucky to have people in my life who are constantly there; however, moving away from town helped me put everything into perspective. Over the past few months, I have been very focused on coming home to be with these constants in my life. I focused so much on them and on building myself back up that I was not paying attention and collided right into some new people that I was not expecting. These new collisions have helped me see that no matter what I do, people will always come and go. Even if I do not feel like these collisions happen at the right time, I can see the impact, or the "ripple effects" that each and every person in my life makes.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to let go of these people who have made such an influence in my life, but in some situations, I know I have to because they have already walked away. I have always had such a hard time figuring out why people walk out of my life; some with no explanation. I used to ask a million questions about why they would go, or why they do not care anymore. It took some time for me to realize that when someone moves on, it does not always mean they do not care. Even if they did move on because of a lack of caring, it does not matter. Holding onto pain and questioning everything will never cause anything but discontent. No matter what the reason is for their departure, I have finally reached a point of acceptance for the effects of every collision I make. I can not predict the effects of any collisions, but they are here to shape me, break me, and understand this craziness we like to call "life." I guess what I am trying to say is, here I go again; letting go, moving on, and waiting for the next collision.

"The moment of impact proves potential for change, has ripple effects far beyond what we can predict. Sending some particles crashing together, making them closer than before. While sending others spinning off into great ventures, landing them where you never thought you'd find them. That's the thing about moments like these. You can't, no matter how hard you try, control how it is going to affect you. You just have to let the colliding parts fall where they may and wait for the next collision."