"Learning from your mistakes" is a big fat cliche, but not everyone learns from their mistakes.

Every single day, many people enter and leave our lives - expected or unexpected - and there's nothing we can do about it.

Expected departures of people in your lives are saddening but at the same time, not worth your tears. What is expected departures? It is when at some point in time in your life, you realise "Hey, this friendship/relationship/kinship will not last till the end of time" and you start being mentally prepared for this separation. Yes, it is definitely very bitter knowing someone is going to say goodbye and never to speak to you again. But it is a different story when you know the reason why he/she becomes your friend. To achieve something? Or to make use of you? Or worse still, just need your companion when they are lonely or in need of someone to occupy that hour or so before their next activity with another group of friends? More often than not it happens to almost everyone out there and somehow we get over these 'sad' departures very easily. It only takes about a day or two and we would just erase that particular person out from our lives, never to exist ever again.

Unexpected departures. Where do I begin? At some point in time, you know in your gut that he/she is here for good. He/she is all you could ask for, your best friend/soulmate. Both of you click very well; talking about everything under the sun, hating and gossiping about the same person, having the same interest as one another... And the list goes on! You know this friendship/relationship can withstand anything - time, obstacles, arguments, misunderstandings, miscommunications - and willingly place all your feelings into it, not knowing the dire consequences that follows. Consciously or unconsciously, something minor popped up which starts to destroy what we once thought was "the best thing that could ever happen in my life". You try to clear things up but the other party just doesn't want to accept/listen. In an instant, it took a drastic change, from acquaintance to strangers.

It hurts, when from strangers you became acquainted, and within a blink of an eye, both of you are back to strangers once more. You knew yourself you had done nothing wrong and had done what you should have done but it was not reciprocated with acceptance. Instead, you see words appear that stung you like a needle. Countless thoughts ran through your head and you could not comprehend how such a simple and minor issue got blown into such state, such horrid and unsavable state. You start to tell yourself "Since when did this became so vulnerable?". And you start to question yourself, if you really did something wrong the whole time. Time and again you reassured yourself but ultimately, you gave in to insecurities and self-doubt. You start to wallow in self-pity and start building walls around yourself, pushing away people who truly meant to pull you out of this emotional quicksand. Flashbacks of the worst memories starts to flood back and all you can hope for is that you are not drown by the rush of uncontrollable emotions. You tell yourself to be strong and never let anyone bring you down, but deep inside you know it is not entirely possible. You go to the most isolated spot you can find and uncontainable emotions starts gushing out from within. And you realize, history had just only repeated itself...