For days, Hannah Montana's "I'll Always Remember You" has been playing on repeat in my head. As old and "childish" as the song may be, it is the perfect song to describe this time of year for incoming college freshmen. "I'm so thankful for the moments, so glad I got to know you," as ready as I've been to move on from high school, I will always remember the people I met in my hometown, the friends I've made and the lessons I've learned.
As some of you may already know, a few months ago I wrote an article entitled, "Moving On." This new article, "Saying Goodbye," is a sort of ode to that, a sequel if you will.
I wrote about moving on. Just two months ago we were getting ready for prom, saying our final goodbyes to some classmates at graduation. Grad parties soon began to take over your summer. Between parties, work, vacations, and hangouts, you forgot how quickly everything would begin to change... forever. We all let the idea of leaving slip our minds, until now.
With move-in day just a few weeks away, everything is beginning to settle in.
Now you're getting ready for your last grad parties, having your final hangouts of the summer, and saying your goodbyes, or, "See you later"'s, to the people you've spent the last 13 or so years with.
Since graduation day, everything has already changed so much, without so much as you giving it a second thought. Over the summer, you've seen some people's true colors, you've watched people change, you've watched yourself change. Everything is different now, and nothing will ever return to the way it once was, for worse or for better.
This is the perfect time to start "Saying Goodbye." This isn't just saying goodbye and moving on from those who've left you behind, those you haven’t spoken to since graduation day, but it's also time to say goodbye to some of your closest friends. Y'all have spent a majority of your lives together, and now you'll be way more than mile or two away from one another. Saying goodbye to your true friends will be the saddest and scariest moments you'll ever have. But it’s time to do it; it’s time to carry on.
Our new lives are beginning. The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived, and it's time to take the plunge. Saying goodbye is hard, I'm not going to sit here and deny it. But, the good thing is, we're all going through the same thing; we can all lean on each other.
Our “new reality” that I mentioned a few months ago is fast approaching. There’s the saying, “Fake it till you make it!” That is something we all need to follow within the next few weeks. It’s natural to feel a million different emotions: excited, nervous, happy, terrified, etc.. But once you move into your new dorm, meet your hall mates, meet your professors, you just gotta fake it till you make it. Everyone’s going through the same feelings and emotions, some more so than others, but if we all lean on each other for support, saying goodbye may not be so hard.
So take the time to make your next few weeks worthwhile. Spend time with the people you love and take the time to hang out with all of your friend groups. Don’t close yourself off in hopes that it’ll make saying goodbye easier; get your last few weeks of quality time while you can. Saying goodbye and moving on doesn’t mean forgetting; it means that you just have to start a new chapter in your life. Your town will still be here, your friends will still be here, but it doesn’t make you a bad person for wanting to start fresh. Just do it.
