Never A Goodbye

Over the past few weeks, as the semester and the year have wound down, the realities of time and the future have really hit me hard. For almost two months, I had completely repressed the thought that the semester would eventually end and that I would be leaving for Turkey soon after that. But now, the finals are over and my room is filled with suitcases waiting to be unpacked (and then repacked in about a month). 

What has hit me the most isn't the fact that I won't be taking classes at Georgia Tech in the spring or that I won't be working at Coke anymore. It's that I won't be around so many people that I have grown so close to--so many friends that have become my second family. I have been so lucky this year, to develop such a strong network of friends (new and old). To have cherished even the most unexpected friendships. I would not be where I am today if it were not for these people who have picked me up when I'm down, helped wipe away the tears, and pushed me back on my feet. 

And for so long I could feel nothing but sadness when I thought of the impending doom that was the end of this semester. When I thought of all the intelligent, accomplished, and inspirational students who were graduating today and those graduating while I will be away, all I could think of was the amazing adventures they will continue to pursue and the lives they will continue to touch. I could only think of the future as a straight path onwards, with no looking back. 

The thought was terrifying and straight up depressing. The thought of how much I would miss these people and the moments we shared was frightening. But then a dear friend reminded me of this beautiful Winnie the Pooh quote: 

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

The beauty of this simple truth was in itself comforting. How lucky I have been to have such relationships, such happiness, such love, that the thought of parting with it is scary. 

I don't know why, but it took me so long to realize that graduating and potentially moving away doesn't mean dropping off the face of the planet. I sometimes forget that the relationships that I have developed with these people are so much stronger than relationships of the past. We have spent so much time together, seen each other through so much. We have climbed up to rooftops and sat on bridges together; we have stayed up an entire night talking about life; we have rummaged through yard sales. And numerous other adventures.  Our friendship is more than a social media website's tracking of our similar interests and photos together. It is real, no matter how intangible it is.  And we live in an age of instant communication, be it email or FaceTime. It's going to take a lot more than even being separated by an ocean for these kiddos to shake me off. 

I know my friends graduating and going off into the real world are going to do some amazing things. And I am going to be around to see it. 

So it doesn't have to be a goodbye, it's simply see ya later.