If you had known, when you were with someone or doing something, that it was going to be the last time, would you have appreciated it more in the moment? Would you have held on a little tighter? Would your eye have caught a few more details to store away in the remnants of your memory?

This often happens in a lot of our lives — someone you love passes away, your friend moves far away, your relationship with your sister isn’t the same since one of you moved out or you have one last conversation with a special somebody before parting ways. Even material things wear out and break: You wear a pair of shoes without realizing that they will get ruined, or your favorite plant unexpectedly shrivels up one day. Yet, no matter how aware we are of the impermanence of things, we inevitably end up wishing we had more time once they are gone.

The temporary people, experiences and things that impact us greatly are the things that we hold closest to our hearts — that will affect us the most when gone. But I think they can also be the very things that, when fully appreciated, help us grow into who we are meant to become. Human connection, even when eventually lost, has the power to change fundamental parts of who you are.

If you reflect on the effect a person has on you, even if that connection is lost, a small part of you remains and looks at things differently. You love limited thriller series, but only when you’re watching it with a certain person. You still crave those never-ending late-night conversations with the person who knows every part of you. And somehow, just when you need it most, you will hear your mom’s comforting voice in your head telling you that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

Although these things that become part of us may fluctuate with the connections we experience, we can’t help but live each day as though nothing will ever change. If we went through our days noticing every single thing that will no longer be the same in five years, we wouldn’t make it one day without going into existential shock. However, maybe lingering a little longer is the only way we will ever appreciate the things around us for what they are in that moment.

Imagine wholeheartedly living in a moment, without a wandering thought or fruitless concern taking precedence. Think about all of the hugs, comforting words, whispered fears and broken promises that float around inside of you — all the treasured things that subconsciously shape how you feel about a person and what you gain or lose from different experiences. Think about all of the ways in which people have shown you that they care about you, from the smallest actions to the most secretive glances. These moments are not in vain simply because a connection is lost — they become a part of everything we have endured.

In the aftermath of an overwhelming change, I concluded that time claims to heal all, but not necessarily in the way that I had assumed. I had thought that maybe I would care less about the people from my past, stop looking back on memories so fondly and become certain in choosing what was best for me. I imagined that I would be such a different person than the one who had experienced the heartache or the doubt or the confusion, that it would no longer hold any power over me.

The truth was a bit different — time had skewed what I had once known. The person I was became unrecognizable, as I could no longer imagine myself as the girl who had done the things she did only half a year ago. She grew more distant with each day, forced to stay in the present no matter how much my mind tried to wander into the past. Because no matter how much you try to find solace inside of memories, the world is loud, unforgiving and waiting to be experienced.

You feel differently, not only because you grow as a person, find new passions or interests and start to feel more fulfilled alone — all of these things are true — but you also forget what it was like to live in the version of your life that you once grieved so heavily or endured so anxiously. New experiences begin to take precedence over old ones, and you will be pulled less and less into the past. This is all to say that time heals all because you start to forget.

In essence, don’t forget to live your days soaking in the liberating feelings that come from growing wildly into the person who you know you are meant to be. With the right people by your side, a never-ending gratitude for all that you have experienced and an open heart for everything life offers. If you’re lucky enough in this lifetime, you will come to understand that the person you are in the present moment is a heart stitched together from pieces of everyone you have ever loved — and that those pieces are what make you authentically you.

It’s as if every individual is represented by a line that fluctuates with their own highs and lows. We all intersect with and impact one another in completely unexpected and unpredictable ways. Sometimes you meet someone at a high while they are at a low; sometimes you simply grow in separate directions. There may be loss, grief or denial, but your line continues no matter how low you travel. And, in the most humanly and powerful way, we continue to intersect with the people who meet us where we are, who bring the magic back into life and prove that human souls can reach, bend and twist to understand one another.

Myah Meunier is a sophomore majoring in English.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.