I recently met someone who I had a strong romantic connection and attraction to. It began almost like a movie and I was impressed at how sincere he seemed when we met.

As with all things, time passes and things change. Even though, a part of me wishes that the beginning had stayed in my memory like a capsule that I could refer and smile to when I needed to look back on a good memory.

I’m not sure why meeting and being involved with person has had such a big impact but it has. And, although it did, I have recently had to let him go for various reasons.

Here are 3 realizations that I recently made before I let someone go:

1. Not everyone can stay with you forever.

This is a lifetime lesson that comes to me every now & then and, it hits me the hardest. We all have a tendency to want to hold on tightly something that we view as a treasure. However, I have had to remember that people can be special to us but they have free-will.

People change, grow and evolve. And, sometimes people grow apart. Not everyone will be around forever and it is okay to come to terms with that.

2. The beginning is sometimes the best part.

When I met this man, he approached me strongly in a very romantic way. I was impressed. He left an impression on me because I had been open to meeting someone who was kind and sincere, these qualities he seemed to embody.

Overtime, I saw that a lot of it was a facade and that as time passed he was not as kind and sincere as I thought. Even though we had an amazing beginning, things turned out to not be feasible in the long run- which is okay.

I got great memories and a huge growing experience from this. Sometimes that’s more valuable than a relationship.

3. I deserve to have healthy boundaries.

When things started to go South, I leaned on my inner strength to set boundaries. I began to see that he was telling me things about what he wanted and acting very differently. This is when I took it upon myself to be honest and set boundaries for myself moving forward.

As open as I had been in the beginning was no longer serving me when I didn’t feel safe anymore. We all deserve to feel like we are worth of having the healthiest, loving and reciprocal relationship that we can. If this is not working out, we have a right to let go it or the person that we are having it with.