Do-Over by Natalya

Do-Over by Natalya - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

The hardest thing about the past is that when it is done, it is truly done. You can regret it, or you can learn to deal with it and move forward. While all mistakes are hard, the big ones often lead to lifelong regret. One of the greatest pieces of advice I can give myself would be to stay in touch with friends that fall out of touch.
I met my best friend in my freshman year of high school. We quickly became inseparable after being seated together in ELA, sharing laughs and tears, even struggling through our first AP class in sophomore year. Everything about our friendship made people think we were best friends since we were kids. I never realized how much we were attached at the hip until she broke the news, she was moving schools. It was like my world shattered and I was losing my best friend.
We promised to stay friends forever, making plans to keep in touch. For months, we hung out and texted constantly, sharing every detail of our lives. But then college applications made school busy, and life got too hectic for both of us. We saw each other less and less, and our texts became infrequent, sometimes going months between messages.
Now, every time I think to text her, I feel us drifting apart. It is a heavy feeling, wishing I could tell her how much I hate this distance. This regret constantly reminds me of the importance of nurturing relationships, even when life is chaotic. It taught me a valuable lesson about prioritizing connections and the effort required to keep them alive. While I cannot change the past, this experience pushes me to work harder to maintain the friendships I cherish.
If only my future self could tell my past self to just hold on to my best friend a little longer. Then I would not miss the laughter we once shared and the knowing glances we used to share. I wish I could tell younger me to stop worrying about the present and try harder to make our relationship work despite the distance. To have just a little more time, to truly keep her close, would mean the world. It would mean that the laughter, the understanding, the happy and sad tears, would not just be a memory but a reality.