a cousin's wedding

I stood at the edge of the crowd, feeling like a stranger at my cousin's wedding. It had been years since I'd seen most of these people, and I wasn't sure what to say to them, or how to reconnect. We'd all grown up together, but now we were all adults, with our own lives and our own struggles, and it felt like we were all just going through the motions. I looked around at the familiar faces, and felt a pang of nostalgia, but also a sense of disconnection. I didn't know how to bridge the gap between the person I used to be, and the person I am now. I think that's what happens when you drift apart from people, you start to feel like you're just pretending to be someone you're not. I watched as my cousins and aunts and uncles laughed and talked, and I felt like an outsider, looking in. I didn't know how to join in, or what to say, and so I just stood there, feeling awkward and alone. It was a strange feeling, being at a family wedding, and feeling like a stranger. I think it's a reminder that relationships take work, and that you can't just pick up where you left off, without putting in the effort to reconnect.