"It's not 'goodbye', it's 'see you later'".
I've heard this phrase said in multiple contexts over the years. Sometimes I've heard it when a friend of mine has moved away for school, and we won't see each other again until the winter or summer break. In this case, they're usually right and I do end up seeing them at some point later on.
I often hear in regards to someone who has recently passed away. I'm 90% sure I said this exact quote on my Facebook page roughly two years ago after my mom died. How much you believe in that idea is entirely up to interpretation and there's nothing wrong with how you interpret it.
In the context of the rest of this article, however, it is an extremely positive thing. Right now, I'm sitting in my dorm room, the same one I've lived in for the past year-and-a-half. My side of the room is just about empty because I'm moving out. Instead of returning next semester, I'm starting a great new adventure during my study abroad semester Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous, if not scared. From my hometown to the university I will be attending, it will be no less than a 14-hour drive. That means that I will be farther away from home, my friends, my family, and other loved ones in between than I have ever been before. If anything, it will be the ultimate test of Independence. Although I know many people who have moved even farther from their homes than I will be going, and I know that they are doing just fine, that doesn't necessarily mean I will have the same experience.
However, I'm going to try to make as much of this new situation as I possibly can. It will be an opportunity for me to really put myself out there in an entirely new environment with entirely new people. Worst case scenario, I don't make any new friends or connections, but even if that happens I will still be able to say that I traveled far from home to a beautiful new place, got to experience something I've never experienced before, and likely won't experience again, at least for quite a while.
Best case scenario, which is what I'm shooting for, I'll be going to this beautiful new place, and leaving with some of the best memories of my life. I have made many new friends, maybe even taking up a new hobby or two, and really just put myself out there to experience something completely new.
No matter what happens, I'm certain that I won't come back the same person I left as. No matter what happens, I will have all new experiences under my belt, and seen and done things I never would have thought that I would have done if you had asked me 4 years ago. Heck, if you had asked me last year at this point I wouldn't have thought this would be possible.
But it is.
So, until the next time I see you...
See you later.
