A Sad Friendship Day

Dear Friend,

Hi. I just felt like writing to you because I guess things are not the same between us like before; that we can't talk frankly about this face-to-face; at least I felt so. Anyway, we met on Friendship Day to have some fun and enjoy each other's company after a long time, but let me be very frank with you, though initially I was happy to see you, I don't know if you shared the same feeling after seeing me. A few comments that you gave me during our whole meeting, really hurt me a lot. If anything I said or did on that day or before that day hurt you, I am sorry for it, but I would insist that none of my actions were intended to hurt you. I knew we had problems during a certain period during college, but since college is over I thought we can afford to forget about those differences and behave like mature grown-ups.

I shared a very deep secret with four of my very good friends (at least I thought so) on that day. I told you people that I had found someone very special. You all heard me out, and though shocked initially, you all accepted my confession with open minds and hearts. I felt encouraged by the support you all showed me. However, after a while, you said something to one of our other friends, wherein you compared her 'someone special' with my 'someone special' and while saying so you said that it was YOUR FRANK opinion. Now, let me be FRANK with you. What YOU think is YOUR frankness, people think is your rudeness. Comments can be frank without being rude. Remember you used to tell me that if a person has had a good impression on people throughout his life, but if he misbehaves just once in front of them, they will always judge him over that one-time bad behavior, tag him accordingly and totally neglect the past times when he was well-behaved. Well, you know what, the same is about the thing you call 'Frankness'. Even if you are very nice to people now, they have not forgotten the times when you have said mean things to them. They still prefer to judge you and remember you that way. The only fact is, they are mature enough NOT to express those feelings when they come in front of you. The simple rule that applies here is 'Check yourself before judging others'.

You have suffered a lot, been hurt by many, I have seen it. But does that mean you will hurt every person you meet? Say things, without thinking about the effect it will have on the other person? Have you ever considered that the other person also has feelings like yours? You call yourself sensitive. You think you are the best. Do you think others are worthless? They don't have feelings? Just because people don't say something, don't think they can't. It's just that they are mature enough not to play with anyone's feelings. What happened to the friend who used to forget bad memories easily and used to tell me to do the same? Or is this rule not applicable only in my case? So many people have been bad to you but you were still good to them. So what have I done so grave that you are being bad to me?

You have always been very self-centered; always distinguished people on wrong criteria. It's time to come out of your 'I, me, myself' pattern of thinking. You are brilliant, but you are NOT the best! You always think you are right. Well, let me break it to you, you are not perfect and hence, you can't always be right. Start thinking for yourself. Stop depending on others' brains for opinions. Have you ever considered why the bad things that happen to you, happen to you only and not others? People who have touched the skies are there because of their attitude and not just their intelligence. How much ever intelligent a person is, if the right attitude is missing, he/she can never progress in life. Don't be like the cat who thinks no one can see her while she is drinking milk just because she has closed her own eyes. Open your eyes! Let me tell a bitter truth to you, people do not see you the way you see yourself. I have seen them laughing and making faces at you when you were busy boasting about yourself. I tried to tell you this as subtly as I could, but you always thought I do not understand. You perceived many facts in a wrong way and came to wrong conclusions. Many times I was dragged in it with you, people thought i did not have my own opinion, but little did they know that you were not the same with me like you were with them. You were a good and caring friend to me who hated to do anything wrongly. But unfortunately things have changed now.

Have you ever pondered why you have lost so many good friends in life? It's difficult to make good friends but very easy to lose them. So, I really hope you do find the answer soon, cause you lost one right on friendship day. My heart will never want to call you a friend this day hence. Maybe..maybe, I really hope if you do come before me after a few years, you will be a changed person then and maybe we can be friends again.

Finally, it's your wish whether to take this letter in a positive or negative way. But let me tell you again, I have been, I am still and I always will be your well-wisher cause I have seen your bright side. I have seen you going out of your way to help people. But as you know, no one remembers how many goals the goalkeeper saved, they will always remember the one he missed.

At the very end, may be you did not do it on purpose, but dear friend, you ruined a perfect friendship day for me and turned such a memorable day into a bad memory.

Happy Friendship Day!
With concern,
Your Friend (?)