It's never easy to say goodbye to someone. Whether that person be a friend, family member, teacher, mentor, etc, it's never easy to say goodbye. When I was 13, I had to say goodbye to my family members and friends when I moved from Boston to Houston. I watched my younger cousin cry as I pulled out of the driveway and left to start my new life in Texas. I will never forget his sad face and on that drive to Houston so I sat and reflected on what it really means to say goodbye.
Goodbye, to me, means "I will never see you again." It's a way of saying that this is the end, that the time has come that two people will never speak or see each other again. It's such a strong word that we toss around so often, but the problem there is that it's not a goodbye, it never is. I may sound ridiculous, but it's true. It's never a goodbye. Even when we say goodbye to loved ones that have passed away, it's never a goodbye because we know that when our time comes, we will see them again.
As far as the word is concerned, "goodbye" in the dictionary should be changed to "I will see you again." "I will see you again" says that no matter how far, no mater what stands in your way, and no matter how bad things can get, you will always find your way back to your friends, family and mentors.
As I said in the beginning, a "goodbye" means forever, an "I'll see you soon" means you will always find your way back to the ones you love. It took me a long time to figure that out, but since I did, I never say "goodbye" to the ones I care about because I know one day I will see them again.
