With two-day old eyeliner stains around my eyes and Nickelback playing in the background, I would like to say, “move on, with gratitude”.
As my university years come to an end, I find myself repressing the inevitable weight of having to say goodbye; to my peers, to my professors, to the beloved campus dog and cat. The postulate makes the claim for easier communication in an increasingly digital world but I find it to be on the contrary. With access comes options, and in the flood of choices that we are confronted with, it becomes hard to make time for the past. So, as cute as “this isn’t goodbye” sounds, it is highly probable that you’re going to move on from the people around you right now. This is not to say that memories will be forgotten or that people will be replaced, no. What I’m trying to say is that your relationships will evolve to take a different shape, to accommodate lack of proximity, both physical and emotional, and the reprioritisation of goals.
Some of my friends are in denial of this, others are more emotionally oblivious, and then there are those (my roommate, shoutout to you) who want to make the most of our remaining time together- all valid, no doubt. Having said that, and after scouring Reddit, here are some of the best ways to transition out of the college environment gracefully, but gratefully:
Don’t leave your goodbyes for the end, instead, say them early and use the time you have left on campus well. That could mean exploring parts of campus you haven’t been to before, talking to new crowds of people, picking up a new activity, etc., or, on the flipside, you could concentrate on the people around you, embrace the status quo one last time, have a last, extended hurrah.
Let the people around you know how you feel :) This one’s my favorite (thank you, pickyvegetable768) because a) you can use multicolored stationery for this, and b) it’ll make the people around you feel good. Write little gratitude notes and hand it over to your friends, your professors, or the lunchboy. You leave a good impression, they’re left with a souvenir.
If I didn’t end on a banal note, I’d be very disappointed so the last thing to do would be to embrace change. Share your anxieties about what the future may hold, find support in your peers and/or be the support they may need, and focus on the present because, as Oogway says, “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift” (I warned you this was going to be banal). I don’t feel qualified to comment on this anymore but Reddit is filled with little life lessons that may help.
godspeed <3