I quietly stopped messaging my friend of 10+ years, and his birthday was a few days ago and he didn't even mention it to me.

We met in high school and ever since we've been in constant contact, little did he know that I've silently suffered from social anxiety and little by little I've been able to open up and little by little I've been able to socialize with more and more people. But to him I haven't said anything and for the past months I've gotten less and less responsive, and little and little I've progressed to the point where I haven't even bothered to send happy birthday wishes to him, which I've always done. At the same time I've realized that we've little to nothing in common anymore and ever since college and even more ever since high school we haven't shared much hobbies or even similar perspectives on politics and ever since then I've sadly realized that the only thing that really holds us together is the simple fact that we've been friends since high school and nothing more to be honest, and this realization has really torn me away from him and it's also in part due to my anxiety to reach out to him and in the long run I've decided to distance myself from him, I also have in my mind the thought that little by little our conversations have become almost forced.<br><br>This little bit of insight also gave me the opportunity to analyze and reflect on my other friendships and people I've met and after almost 10 plus years I've managed to open up and little by little I've been able to socialize with more people, but it's a little sad and disappointing to end the friendship like this, as I've always thought that the day we turn 50 we would still be reminiscing about high school, but at the same time I've come to the realization that I don't really know him anymore and I haven't really paid attention to what he likes or does besides work or in general, I've also realized that whenever I meet him it's always awkward and we talk about the same things we always talk about, but I've realized that it's not worth continuing this relationship for nostalgia, and I've also realized that I've been living in the past and I've been holding onto it for a long time, and as I've grown up I've realized that sometimes it's okay to let go of the things that hold us back and that relationships change and that it's okay to let go of people, and that everyone grows up and changes as I have, also he was only a part of my teenage years, but I've also come to the realization that I'm little to nothing to him besides a memory of the past and that to him I must also be nothing more than that same memory.