Everyone hates saying goodbye to the ones they love. Some times more than others it can be one of the hardest things to do. When it comes to saying goodbye, it can come about in many ways or forms that can almost be unexpected. When you lose a loved one to death, the heart hurts for days, months, even years. When you have to part ways with one of your best friends because they are moving away, the pain can be almost incomparable to anything else. The ache inside our chest tears us apart in ways that physical pain cannot do.
Growing up, I often had to say goodbye to the people I loved so much. I said goodbye to people I thought were my best friends, and I had to say goodbye to family that was considered "toxic" even if they hadn't done anything to me that had hurt me. In high school, I had to say goodbye to the friends that understood me the most when they transferred or moved away. I had to say goodbye to the past, to make sure I can move forward. It was a constant cycle of goodbyes, and it still continues to this day.
But why are goodbyes so painful? Was it the fear of missing that person or thing so much? Or was it the fact that you may never see that person again? I think its a little bit of both. When saying goodbye, I fear that it will be the last time I see that person or thing. I fear that I won't be able to continue my life story with them in my life. My heart hurts because the love I have for someone is unconditional and will not end, even if I can't see them anymore. But most of all, I fear to be forgotten about if I say goodbye to someone who has been one of the biggest influences in my life.
Believing in the quote, "out of sight, out of mind" has made me skeptical about whether that applies to friendships as a whole. Each person I meet, molds me in a way that will change me for the future. Each goodbye may not hurt as much as the next one, but they all hurt in the same way.
Goodbyes are painful because it means it's the end of one story and that another story is about to begin.
