Your words feel like a soothing balm here, Michelle. Who hasn’t been in this situation? It’s an inevitable realisation that sooner or later hits us, and the choice is placed before us: whether we want to keep struggling with it or learn a thing or two from it and work towards strengthening our values and character in general.
I’m glad you took this up, and thank you for writing each and every line of what you wanted to convey. They just kept getting better with every passing line!
As for S, if you’re reading this… this is a giant leap of realisation that you’ve taken for yourself. Many of us (including me) have been in this space, and I’m sure many will be there again in the future. I hope those who stumble upon this post find strength in the vulnerability you’ve shown.
We absolutely need to keep working on ourselves and learn to let go of what and who doesn’t work for us. Only then can we create space for something and someone who adds value to our lives and nourishes our energy instead of draining it.
I hope Michelle’s response helped you. More power to you <3
Yessss Ankesh, that's it exactly! Dealing with friendship issues like this feels like a right of passage somehow. I'm glad it resonated & that you approve of every line; ahaha, I'm low-key always looking forward to reading your thoughts on anything and everything I publish here (‘:
&& thank you for your generosity & leaving something for S! I'm sure it's appreciated ! ♡
I loved the concept of corresponding letters from other users, so original and beautiful!! 😻 And your writing style reflects perfectly of a dilemma many of us experience when we’re growing up with and growing out of our friendships. It was super relatable and beautifully expressed. 🪶🌟🥰 Hope you keep writing such essays! 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Aww Merve, super happy to read this feedback! About the concept & of my writing style 🥹 I'm glad it was relatable & I shall try my best to keep it up! && if you ever need to shout into the void, you know where to go. 🫂
as always, your work is so gorgeous michelle!! i feel like we've all been that little girl at the lunch table before. the pain of a friendship ending is so raw, and i feel like we don't talk about it enough collectively. thank you for sharing <33
2024 was the year that broke me due to breaking friendships and relationships. i wish i had seen this or a writing similar to this and felt slightly stronger to navigate that world of loneliness and self doubt. thank you for sending me this post through Notes. sleeping with such positive words is reassuring <3
Oh Aseem. First, I'm sad that it didn't quite arrive at the right time, but also really thankful that it still brought you comfort; from me & the letter sender, I'm sure we're both happy to have been of service to you.
Good night dear one, && feel free to point me to a work of yours you're keen to get feedback on. I'd happily put it on my reading list, I'm hear to read, as much as to write. ♡
I've sent a letter. I'm starting to realise that sub stack is community where we lost it, I thought this would just be another social media. I can't wait to hear from you.
This was a really reflective piece about friendship, loyalty, and growth. I appreciate how gently it holds both the pain of losing people and the possibility of finding better connections later
Aww, thank you for saying this; the feedback means a lot! So if you ever need to shout into the void, you know where to go & be damn sure I'll do my best to hold what you share gently.
I love this exchange because it is honest and something most people can relate to. I love the watering dead plants imagery because sometimes that is so true. ♡
""I have moved enough times in my life, where often the move meant a collapse of an entire support system of friendship; not just one person, but an entire architecture. So when I say I hear you, I mean it. It's painful, and it's isolating, and it's okay to sit with those things.""
“So when I say I hear you, I mean it. It's painful, and it's isolating, and it's okay to sit with those things.” I need to have this printed and framed on my wall this is so beautiful and the most needed piece of advice for me.
As always, beautifully written. I particularly loved the part about loyalty. Learning to be loyal to yourself first and foremost before offering loyalty outward. This is such an important point of reflection 🤍
Oh Landon, I'd honestly print it out for you if you want; I'm really flattered you'd even consider it.
And yess, I'm happy to hear the loyalty part resonated; I feel like a lot of people that end up looking out for other people really struggle with this (it almost feels selfish to to be loyal to yourself first)
Nice one, Michelle, really nice. And friendship is such a deep profound subject, the perception of which changes with age a lot. Philo question here: is there an objective definition of friendship or is it all our subjective living perception?
Very dear of you to give an uplifting hug to that young lady on the other side... 🫰🏼
Thanks Dean! & yes definitely agree, it changes so much as we age. & hmmm, I'm inclined to say more like parameters of a spectrum in which you can call a relationship a friendship, rather than one objective definition
&& thank youu, ahaha I'm trying to give all the unsent letter sender a virtual hug 🫂 🤗
thankyou for this , for everything you wrote i loved you take on the letter! As i have said before i love the way you articulate your feelings and your take could not have been better🤍🤍
Your words feel like a soothing balm here, Michelle. Who hasn’t been in this situation? It’s an inevitable realisation that sooner or later hits us, and the choice is placed before us: whether we want to keep struggling with it or learn a thing or two from it and work towards strengthening our values and character in general.
I’m glad you took this up, and thank you for writing each and every line of what you wanted to convey. They just kept getting better with every passing line!
As for S, if you’re reading this… this is a giant leap of realisation that you’ve taken for yourself. Many of us (including me) have been in this space, and I’m sure many will be there again in the future. I hope those who stumble upon this post find strength in the vulnerability you’ve shown.
We absolutely need to keep working on ourselves and learn to let go of what and who doesn’t work for us. Only then can we create space for something and someone who adds value to our lives and nourishes our energy instead of draining it.
I hope Michelle’s response helped you. More power to you <3
Yessss Ankesh, that's it exactly! Dealing with friendship issues like this feels like a right of passage somehow. I'm glad it resonated & that you approve of every line; ahaha, I'm low-key always looking forward to reading your thoughts on anything and everything I publish here (‘:
&& thank you for your generosity & leaving something for S! I'm sure it's appreciated ! ♡
And I am always looking forward to reading more of your pieces :)
Keep writing! <3
I loved the concept of corresponding letters from other users, so original and beautiful!! 😻 And your writing style reflects perfectly of a dilemma many of us experience when we’re growing up with and growing out of our friendships. It was super relatable and beautifully expressed. 🪶🌟🥰 Hope you keep writing such essays! 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Aww Merve, super happy to read this feedback! About the concept & of my writing style 🥹 I'm glad it was relatable & I shall try my best to keep it up! && if you ever need to shout into the void, you know where to go. 🫂
the same on my side as well! 🥰 with the best greetings!! 💫💫🍀🍀
as always, your work is so gorgeous michelle!! i feel like we've all been that little girl at the lunch table before. the pain of a friendship ending is so raw, and i feel like we don't talk about it enough collectively. thank you for sharing <33
thanks sash! always happy to hear that quality is consistent (‘: &&& yess, exactly! it was great to get to talk about friendship ♡
2024 was the year that broke me due to breaking friendships and relationships. i wish i had seen this or a writing similar to this and felt slightly stronger to navigate that world of loneliness and self doubt. thank you for sending me this post through Notes. sleeping with such positive words is reassuring <3
Oh Aseem. First, I'm sad that it didn't quite arrive at the right time, but also really thankful that it still brought you comfort; from me & the letter sender, I'm sure we're both happy to have been of service to you.
Good night dear one, && feel free to point me to a work of yours you're keen to get feedback on. I'd happily put it on my reading list, I'm hear to read, as much as to write. ♡
better late than never! i will leave my work open to you and let you choose what you’d like to read <3
Loved reading this !!
Happy to know you loved it! 🫶
Instant love. You had me at the first line. Thank you for coming into my substack ♥
Can't take much credit for the first line, as it's from the letter sender, buuuut super happy to be in your substack. ♡
2025 was a bad bitch to so many of us, I felt so seen reading this, sending love 💜
Indeed, 2025 was much the same for me, *cries. But alas, I'm happy to read you felt seen. 🫶🫂
I felt so seen in this🫶🏼i just wrote a similar article
Happy to hear it & will check out your latest piece! (:
I've sent a letter. I'm starting to realise that sub stack is community where we lost it, I thought this would just be another social media. I can't wait to hear from you.
Thank you for trusting me with your letter Isabel, keep an eye out for it. (:
thanks sweet x
This is such a beautiful piece and I think you comforted more people than the person who wrote the letter🥺
So happy to read this; glad to have brought confort to even just one person, so more than that is pretty amazing. Glad you were comforted! 🥹🫂
This was a really reflective piece about friendship, loyalty, and growth. I appreciate how gently it holds both the pain of losing people and the possibility of finding better connections later
Aww, thank you for saying this; the feedback means a lot! So if you ever need to shout into the void, you know where to go & be damn sure I'll do my best to hold what you share gently.
I love this exchange because it is honest and something most people can relate to. I love the watering dead plants imagery because sometimes that is so true. ♡
I'm so happy to read this feedback &&& that it resonated well! ♡♡♡
""I have moved enough times in my life, where often the move meant a collapse of an entire support system of friendship; not just one person, but an entire architecture. So when I say I hear you, I mean it. It's painful, and it's isolating, and it's okay to sit with those things.""
felt like a hug!❤️
Aww Priyank, that's actually such a nice reaction; I'm glad it felt like a hug! 🫂🫶
“So when I say I hear you, I mean it. It's painful, and it's isolating, and it's okay to sit with those things.” I need to have this printed and framed on my wall this is so beautiful and the most needed piece of advice for me.
As always, beautifully written. I particularly loved the part about loyalty. Learning to be loyal to yourself first and foremost before offering loyalty outward. This is such an important point of reflection 🤍
Oh Landon, I'd honestly print it out for you if you want; I'm really flattered you'd even consider it.
And yess, I'm happy to hear the loyalty part resonated; I feel like a lot of people that end up looking out for other people really struggle with this (it almost feels selfish to to be loyal to yourself first)
Nice one, Michelle, really nice. And friendship is such a deep profound subject, the perception of which changes with age a lot. Philo question here: is there an objective definition of friendship or is it all our subjective living perception?
Very dear of you to give an uplifting hug to that young lady on the other side... 🫰🏼
Thanks Dean! & yes definitely agree, it changes so much as we age. & hmmm, I'm inclined to say more like parameters of a spectrum in which you can call a relationship a friendship, rather than one objective definition
&& thank youu, ahaha I'm trying to give all the unsent letter sender a virtual hug 🫂 🤗
thankyou for this , for everything you wrote i loved you take on the letter! As i have said before i love the way you articulate your feelings and your take could not have been better🤍🤍
Sooo incredibly happy to read this! I'm glad it resonated well & thank youu for letting me know 🫶🥹