I am being abandoned.

Not one, but both of my roommates will be packing up their things and leaving me come the end of the semester. No, not because I’m a terrible person to live with, but because they are both going on to pursue massive adventures studying abroad. I am very excited for them, I am. They are both going to have incredible times in their respective study locations for the next semester and make wonderful memories. I’m just also going to miss them. Like, a lot. So this one is for all of you other soon-to-be-lone-wolves out there whose roommates (or friends in general) are also ditching you for better things.

Stage One: Excitement

They got accepted! Your roommate finally got into that incredible program they’ve been working on applying to forever. You could not be more delighted for them. You go out to dinner and celebrate the happy occasion with them. You do not know what is on the horizon.

Stage Two: Planning

Your roommate is furiously collecting papers, sorting out their passport issues, and making so many phone calls, you can hardly keep track. They have so much on their minds. You sit and listen to every detail about where they’ll be living, what they’ll be doing, and the great people they’ll be able to meet. The pieces are falling into place and the whole thing is becoming a lot more real and present than it was before.

Stage Three: Nope, Nope, Nope

The panic sets in. Between the embassy visits and the whirlwind meetings with advisors of every sort, it hits you. They’re actually going to be away for the entire rest of the school year. Here comes the denial. The blind rejection that anything is going to change. You regret ever saying they should go in the first place. Your once solid plans seem vague and hazy now without them there to flesh it out. You understand these feelings are mostly selfish. You can’t help it.

Stage Four: Time Crunch

Getting through the tough part takes a lot, but you have to. You only have a couple weeks left together and that time is too precious to spend groveling. They’re still going and you guys still have stuff to do. Everything that you wanted to do together but never got around to before fills the agenda. You spend entire weekends doing activities you always meant to, but that never really felt like a priority before. You spend every open moment you can together, enjoying each other’s company before you won’t be able to in person anymore.

Stage Five: Happy Tears

The day has come. Finals are over, papers are turned in. Their side of the room is cleared out, their towel is off the hook in the bathroom. It’s time to say goodbye. You cry and they cry but it’s okay. You know that this will be the experience of a lifetime and you are finally happy for them again because whether they are across the room or across the world, you will always be roommates. And I mean, come on, they’ll be back next year anyways. Probably with gifts.