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Dear Kiantha: Change is natural, in yourself and your relationships

Duncan  (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

Dear Kiantha,

I ran into someone that I was once very close to many years ago and I almost didn’t recognize him. Is it possible that maybe we were never close?

Dear Friend,

I moved to Washington state 20 or so years ago. I originally landed on the West Side. I remember comfortably exploring and finding my way around the beautiful Evergreen State.

The mixture of historical landmarks and beautiful neighborhoods like Madrona, the Central District, Beacon Hill and Queen Anne drew me in as I fell in love with my new home. I loved everything about Seattle. The homes, the architecture and, of course, all the amazing restaurants.

Nearly eight years later, I relocated to Eastern Washington and began finding hidden treasures of the Inland Northwest. It was all so different, at times feeling like a completely different state.

Over the past few days, I returned to Seattle and realized that the city I once loved had changed so much that not only did I not recognize it, I felt like a stranger – like a tourist in the very place I once lived. I drove through the neighborhoods that were once familiar except this time I got lost at nearly every turn. So much had changed.

There were skyscrapers where there were once open views of the Puget Sound. Neighborhoods known for their beautiful single-family homes were now sprinkled with multilevel condos and apartments on nearly every block.

Narrowing lanes, streets once two ways, now one way. Restaurants that I loved were now gone, making way for brand new enterprise.

Everything about the city I loved had changed. I found myself in the center of something moving at a much faster pace than I remember. How could a place I knew so well become somewhere I was so out of place?

Was it me or was it the city? The answer is both. The city had changed drastically but so have I – and that is a good thing. All things change and grow and as we grow, we find new interest, new connections and often things that we once connected with we no longer do.

I don’t believe that I never loved the west side of the mountains. Instead, I believe it was what I needed at the time and my needs have since changed. The beautiful thing about life, people, places and connections is that they do change, offering us an opportunity to appreciate the role they played in our story when we needed them. Change is natural and inevitable. Gratitude for your time with your once-close friend is always an option, as is my gratitude for the side of the mountains that led me to where I am today.

Soul to soul,

Kiantha

Dear Kiantha can be read Fridays in The Spokesman-Review. To submit a question, email DearKiantha@gmail.com.

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