"Le temps, qui change les gens, n'altère pas l'image que nous avons gardée d'eux."
— Marcel Proust
Simplified Meaning:
As time goes by, people grow and change in various ways, but the way we remember them stays the same in our minds. Imagine you have a best friend from childhood. You may remember them as a fun, playful, and carefree person. Even if you meet them years later and they have become more serious or different, your memory of them as a child remains unchanged. This is like looking at an old photograph; the person in the picture stays the same even if they have changed a lot since the photo was taken. To apply this idea to your life, understand that people might not always be as we remember them, and it is important to get to know the present version of them instead of holding on too tightly to the past. This can help you build better, more understanding relationships with them as they are now.