Graduation Goodbyes: Addendum

It’s now been almost two weeks since graduation and I find myself better able to take a step back from the goodbyes, since I’m no longer caught up in the act itself. My original post on the topic didn’t say too much; I was too upset by what seemed like the end of my life as I knew it to say anything of value. Now though, I feel I can add actual insight to the issue.

Let me start by saying that saying goodbye at graduation is the hardest part of college. The classes and tests are easy: you study, you pass (or fail). While some tests may make or break whether you graduate or not, you didn’t sit up nights making up religions and talking about life with them. If you’re like me, it’s the people who made college worthwhile, so it’s the most difficult part of the whole four years to say goodbye one last time to them.

While I certainly found it easy to slip into the thought that graduation was the last time I would see my friends and after leaving I had lost them, I know now that this is not the case. With all the technology available these days, it is NOT the last time to see or speak with them. There’s instant messaging, phones, email, the internet. After saying the last goodbye the night of graduation, the next day I was chatting over AIM with the people I missed. And I already have friends actively planning to visit me later in the summer, even though it’s only been two weeks since graduation. While I know that it helps that I’m living on the East Coast and most of my friends are in neighboring states, I also know that the people I know on the West Coast are also planning on visiting and I will be visiting them when I can. It’s much easier being away from your support system when you know it won’t be forever.

You can hold onto the friendships that matter.  And while it’s the hardest time saying goodbye on the last day, it’s not as bad as you think.