There is a truth about life that I’ve come to believe deeply through years of experience: You should never give too much meaning to people.

Throughout my life, I’ve met many different people in all kinds of environments—at work, weddings, school, games, and random gatherings. The list could go on endlessly. And yet, there’s one strange thing I’ve noticed: I don’t talk to a single one of those people today.

The friend I once sat beside in class? We stopped talking years ago. The colleagues I laughed with every lunch break? Our conversations ended the moment I left that job. The people I met through games or communities? Gone, too.

I now realize that every time I started talking to someone, I was assigning them a special meaning in my life. I thought they mattered, that they truly saw me, that they cared. But how naive I was. No one is as kind-hearted as we imagine. No one thinks of our well-being as much as we hope.

Please don’t rush to find your “best friend.” Don’t search endlessly for your soulmate. If they’re meant to be in your life, fate will write that story for you. Don’t force it. Don’t let the illusion of closeness cloud your judgment.

And don’t be fooled by the word “family” either.

Yes… family. The most dangerous people in your life can sometimes be your own relatives. Strangers won’t often go out of their way to harm you. But those who share your blood? They know where to aim. They will find your weakest points and strike when you least expect it. You won’t even realize you’re under attack until you’re standing in the middle of a war you never signed up for.

I say this not out of bitterness, but from experience. I wouldn’t be writing these words if I hadn’t lived through every line of them.

Be careful.

Don’t give people more importance than they deserve. Don’t open your soul to everyone just because they were kind once.

Sometimes someone enters your life just to push you in the right direction and then disappears. One person might be the reason you finally start going to the gym. Another might be why you sign up for driving school. Someone else could teach you the hardest lesson of your life. Then they leave.

But with each one, you become stronger. You become wiser. You become more you.

So hold on. And don’t forget: not everyone is meant to stay—but every experience can shape who you’re meant to become.