Over time, I’ve come to realize that what we seek most deeply and passionately in life isn’t career success, money, or stability. It’s the closeness of another soul. That look that understands us without needing explanations. The voice that brings us peace. The presence that makes us feel “at home,” even in a foreign place.

Love—whether it’s friendship or romantic—comes as a gift. Sometimes beautifully wrapped, other times unexpected and chaotic. It can be magic or a storm. It can lift us to the skies or leave us empty, with our knees to the ground. But in all this beautiful, painful madness, in all this humanity, lies our meaning.

Relationships come and go. Some last a lifetime, others just long enough to leave a mark. And yes, sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we wonder why we invested, why we believed, why we loved. But the truth is, nothing is ever truly lost. Maybe a story ends, but wisdom remains. The way we’ve grown remains. The way we learned to hold ourselves when the other person was no longer there—that remains.

And when I look back at the people who passed through my life, I see that each one was a teacher. Some taught me to trust. Others taught me when to walk away. Some showed me how deeply I can love, and others… how much I can forgive.

So today, if you’re going through an ending—or simply missing someone who once meant the world to you—I want to ask you: What did you learn from that story? What stayed with you, even after love was gone?

You can write to me, if you feel like it. Or write to yourself. Because sometimes, all we need is to put into words everything that fills our soul to realize just how far we’ve come.