This I Believe

100 beliefs. That's a what a first grader -yes, a five year old - chose to do for an assingment. Due to lack of time, motivation to write yet another essay, and a substantial idea I decided to reiterate his idea with a list of what I believe in. It was upon contemplating on these beliefs that I found one that seemed to prove relevant to what many of us are going through today.

Throughout my life I have uncovered the belief that goodbyes are hard for a reason. Mixed in with all of the excitement and anticipation I can't help but notice a sense of sadness. This is four years , and for some it's been thirteen years of friendship we're talking about. Goodbyes are hard. It's the idea that all of a sudden life as we know it changes, familiar faces are exchanged for strangers, and all of a sudden our comfort zones are lost and we are on our own. It is hard to imagine a future that doesn't directly incorporate my so-recent past. For me, goodbyes are hard because as I anticipate another exciting journey, I have to say goodbye to the lives of others that have become so tangled and incorporated with my own. It's having reconcile that everyone elses lives will alter drastically without me. It's a rather selfish and naieve take to think that life as we know it ceases to change while we are away - but I can't help but recognize it. I know that communication is key in keeping relationships strong but lets be realistic, thousands of miles do play their tole into friendships.

I believe that goodbyes are hard for a reason. They're hard because usually the people we are saying goodbye to are those who have already touched our lives in a way we don't want to forget. As we leave high school we will endure a countless amount of goodbyes. It's an inevitable fact we must face. A solution? Maybe we're supposed to embrace it. Perhaps we handle goodbyes by simply realizing that they're hard because the time we've had such valuable memories.

 *We picked up our caps and gowns and all that senior stuff that's supposed to help us remember the good 'ole days, but some of the things that you remember most can't be put on paper. That day finally came, and you sat there with all of the friends that you have made over the years, you looked at your family and deep down you knew that this was a once in a lifetime moment. It was the last time in your life that these people would be together in one place. Yeah there would be reunions, but there was always that chance that one person couldn't make it there. You looked back on your time with these people and realized that it was short lived and that it didn't seem as if there was for everything you wanted to accomplish, sports, activities, SAT, ACT, and all that good stuff. They called your name, your tassle got turned, and you got a piece of paper that said you were smart. Then you said good-bye, maybe to your town, and that school and your friends. You know that you can go back to visit, but there will be strangers in the halls and it's not the same. It's different, and you're different. But it's not the end. In fact, everything is just the beginning*