Hellos are much easier than goodbyes, and I seem to have been saying a lot of the latter this past week.

Leaving for college is a more complicated process than just moving, and few seem to dispute that. Beyond packing into three bags all the supplies needed for the next nine months, this transition marks the end of an era and a beginning of a new one, and for me, as for many, the process has been bittersweet.

In my mind, leaving home for my next journey should be a smooth and seamless transition. I say my goodbyes, make promises to those whom I'll see soon again and hit the road with a clear head and even clearer direction as to what the next steps in life will hold. People at graduation parties want answers:

Where are you going to school? What are you going to major in? What do you want to get involved with on campus? What about Greek life? What are you going to miss about home?

I have the script down pat, but even still I couldn't have much of a clue what to expect.

This age’s surplus of information about college has supposed to have prepared me for the next four years; I can tell you about my school’s traditions, the stars of the basketball team, where to go for great custard and when begins the advent of finals week. But I haven’t experienced it, and that’s both the scariest and most exciting thing about it.

We like to put things in boxes. Our family pictures, our high school relationships, our educational path to the career we want to pursue. This, to me, seems unhealthy. Our lives aren't meant to be compartmentalized into decades and half decades, ages eighteen and nineteen. It should be a fluid process, the passing of a torch from a younger to an older, little bit more mature version of ourselves. Leaving home, I embrace the opportunity to grow. But my hope is that I’m not strong-armed by the pressure to change.

To those I leave behind at home, that you for continuing to be apart of my life through this next step in my journey. This is not a goodbye, but a see you later, whether it be on FaceTime, in person this winter break or in the years to come. Each of you has left an imprint on me as a person, and hopefully, the both of us are better as a result of having crossed paths.

To those whom I will meet in the coming days, weeks, months and years, I’m prepared for the breathless laughs, the late night burritos and tears shed over excruciating study sessions. I can’t wait to share this new world with you, friends—we’re gonna have the times of our lives.

It’s with a great sentiment that today I remember what has been, appreciate what is, and anticipate what soon will be. Let’s do it, together.