Slap on the Wrist

It seems like all of a sudden people have completely changed-- they go on a vacation for a month and they come back a different person. Suddenly, you find that they've been back for weeks, yet they haven't called. You reach out to them and all they have in return is snark and curt answers. What happened, is this what growing up is- watching people disappear, waiting for them, and then realizing they've come back a different person? What if I haven't changed with them, what if I'm not the one taking vacations and coming back with something more than a tan? I'm exactly the same and I can't keep up with everyone around me. All too quickly I've gone from feeling overwhelmed by the mass of people around me, to falling victim to the terror of true solitude. For the first time in my life I realize how horribly lonely the world can be.