I believe in keeping in touch. I know this because I’ve had multiple negative and positive experiences with it.
Since my brother was a toddler, and I was just born, our family had a nanny. Natasha wasn’t just a nanny to me, she was a best friend, and a second mother. I saw her every day.  Natasha picked me up from school, she cooked every meal for me, and she would come on vacations with us. When I was ten years old, Natasha came to me and told me she was going to leave for a little while. She told me she would come back to walk our dogs every week, and we would see each other often. I believed it, but that didn’t stop me from being sad. I cried alone in my room for two months. 

Natasha never did come back to walk our dogs, but she would text me often. Soon, the texts started coming less and less frequently. She wouldn’t answer my calls, or my texts anymore. Then there was the year where all I got was a birthday voicemail. After I turned 11, nothing came at all. No more texts, calls, letters, or voicemails. I did everything. I tried a new way to contact her every day, but she never responded to me. It’s been three and a half years now, and I still haven’t heard from her. My parents became upset with her, they didn’t want me to try to communicate with her anymore.  Without Natasha, I felt like no one supported me. If Natasha didn’t want to talk to me, I wondered, who would? Of course, no one thought it was that big of a deal, because no one had the connection with Natasha that I did. No one understood how I felt, and I feared no one ever would. I felt lonely and helpless.

After all of my pain had receded, and time passed, I realized how deeply important it is to keep in contact with those I don’t see every day. I would never want anyone to feel the pain I felt at such a young age. One of my best friend’s lives in London, and even though I see her every summer, I still text her weekly, and facetime her. It helps us get through the year without seeing each other, and makes us both feel cared for. My older brother, Ethan, left for Colby College in Maine a few months ago, and boy, has that been hard. It feels as if there is an emptiness in our house, but I text him every day, and facetime him every week. Keeping in touch with Ethan every day makes it feel as if he still lives with us. Keeping in touch with him can come in different forms, from letters to a simple text. Every month our family sends Ethan care packages, full of his favorite foods, and items from home. I know this makes his heart feel good.

My experience with Natasha taught me how to have a kind and connected heart. I was always raised to be loyal, and to show people that I care, but my experience taught me exactly how vital it is to do so. I learned that keeping in touch is a way to show that you care and that you want them to be happy. Showing someone how much you care about them, by making an effort to keep your connection with them intact, makes everything about your relationship with them stronger. My experience hurt me deeply, but I would never take back the lessons I learned from it. I believe in keeping in touch.