08/30/16

Saying Goodbye

It’s ironic how my first post on this blog, a place for me to introduce myself and say hello, is about goodbyes. As a recent high school graduate about to embark on university life, August was all about goodbyes. As I picked up my IB Diploma, I said goodbye to my former high school, and along with that to four years of teachers, memories and rainbow coloured lockers. As my friends moved away to their universities one by one, I said goodbye with promises to Skype, keep in touch and not forget each other. For those living on campus, you have to say goodbye to family, pets and a home you may have known for years.

Now as the days left until Imagine Day (coincidentally, also my birthday) pass by, I’m sitting on my bed with unbrushed hair, wearing a Selena Gomez concert t-shirt and writing a blog about what it means to say goodbye.

I know for a fact I won’t keep in touch with half of my friends who are attending different institutions. I know the drill. Depending on your ability to text back and keep snap streaks alive, you might still remain close friends with some people, but not all. And I guess it’s part of the human experience, being able to make connections, have good times and memories but to also be able to let them go when the time comes. It’s bitter and it hurts. We make scrapbooks and Facebook albums to remind ourselves of what we once had, so it can be stamped in time.

This first year at UBC will offer me so many opportunities that my high school self could not have dreamed of. That’s part of the reason why we say goodbye, so we can welcome new and exciting things into our lives. However, I think a part of me will always be that high school girl who is unable to let go of everything that made her experience wonderful. Or maybe not, what do I know, I’m just a first year. What I do know is that everyone I met and everything I did has made me who I am today, and perhaps the only way to honour that is to move on to the next adventure and give it everything I have.