You are allowed to miss someone you used to have a strong connection with, even if it has been years since you have spoken.
There is no cut-off point where you should have reached acceptance. There is not a set date where closure is finally going to set in and you can move on with your life.
Your friends might make you feel like you are guilty of staying stuck in the past, because they are tired of hearing you talk about him when such a large amount of time has passed, but that does not mean there is anything wrong with you.
You have permission to miss him. Even if it has been ages. Even if he hurt you. Even if you are pretty sure he never thinks about you.
Missing him does not make you pathetic. It is not something you should be ashamed to admit.
You are allowed to miss him, because he mattered to you. Because the moments you shared were milestones. Because, even though everything ended poorly, there was a time when you were authentically happy with him at your hip.
There is nothing wrong with missing him after such a long time — especially since missing him does not necessarily mean that you are still stuck on him. You might be over him already. You might know, deep down in your gut, that you two never would have worked together.
You can be over someone and still miss them for the friendship you had or the late night talks you shared. You can be healed and miss them. You can be happy with your new life and miss them.
After all, there are teachers that you miss. There are childhood friends that you miss. There are relatives that you miss. Missing them does not mean you wish you could go back to those days. You might be happier where you are right now. You might have an appreciation for the past, but love your present.
When a person you genuinely cared about leaves your life, you do not have to erase every memory you have of them. You do not have to act like they suddenly mean nothing to you. You do not have to put on an act in order to protect yourself.
You should never feel bad about missing someone, even if they are not missing you.
If you created happy memories with someone, then you might as well relive them from time to time. Just because they are no longer in your world does not mean they are not allowed inside your thoughts either.
Your past shaped you into who you are. Your past is important. You should not let yourself forget what you went through, even if it hurts, even if you have your heart set on never allowing history to repeat itself.
You are allowed to miss him, even after all of this time. You are allowed to have feelings, even though everyone acts like you should be over this by now.