I've never really been good at saying goodbye. Which is kinda ironic because I feel like I've had to say more than my fair share of them. My family moved to Brazil this past July, which meant that I had to part with my Michigan friends a whole month earlier than I was expecting. The whole moving to another country/continent thing also made the goodbyes approximately one hundred times harder. I knew that I wouldn't get to see my friends that often because I was going to school in Utah, but before my family moved, I thought that I would at least see them during Christmas and summer vacations. But everything was different now that my family was leaving Michigan. I couldn't say "I'll see you in 4 months!" because I honestly didn't know. That was probably the hardest part: saying goodbye and not knowing when I would see them again.
I can remember those goodbyes like it was yesterday: hugging Hunter for the last time outside my hotel, saying goodbye to Madison in the hotel lobby with the sad music in the background, Joe giving me a Northville sweatshirt in Meijer at 2 AM, watching Colleen sit on my front steps as my family drove down Deer Run Road for the last time. I was leaving everything that I'd known and loved. Saying goodbye to my friends was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.
Little did I know that it would only get harder. Three weeks later I had to say goodbye to my family. It's a good thing that I'm basically a bottomless pit of tears because I'd never cried so much in my life. I was always so excited to go to college and have my own adventures. I knew I would miss my family, but I didn't know that leaving them was going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I've always loved them, but I think having to live on my own has really taught me how deep that love actually is.
I miss them every second of every day. I miss playing Monopoly with my dad, eating Cameron's cookies, staying up and watching TV with my mom until the sun rises, having late night conversations with Parker, and sleepovers with Paige. I miss coming home and hearing the sound of Cameron's drums or Parker's computer games. I miss being silly and laughing with them. They're basically my favorite people ever.
Becca introduced me to the comfort of amazing homemade baked mac and cheese. I can't even begin to imagine what this year would have been like without her recipe book. But more importantly, Becca taught me that it's okay to be myself. She's showed me that it doesn't matter what other people think, as long as you're proud of who you are and the decisions you're making. She's taught me that no matter what life throws at you, we need to pick ourselves up and keep going. She showed me that it's okay to make mistakes because nobody's perfect. She showed me that we shouldn't let our past decisions define our future: we can always make tomorrow a better day.
I don't know what I would've done without Lisa. Lisa is one of the sweetest, most caring people that I've ever met. I love that girl. She's done so much for me this year, and I can't even begin to repay her. She's made me feel so loved and cared about, even on my worst days. Lisa's showed me that though other people in our lives (*coughcough* boys) will hurt us and stab us in the back, true friends will always be there to help dry our tears. She's taught me how to share and how to be a better person. She's showed me how to work hard and not be afraid to laugh at myself. She is my living proof that nightgowns with bears on them can look super hot and that sitting for an hour in the patio furniture section of Shopko can be one of the most relaxing things a person can do. Most importantly, she's screenshotted hundreds of ugly Snapchats from me and has liked every single one of my Instagram pictures. If that's not true friendship, I don't know what is.
Goodbyes are an unavoidable part of life: you go to college, your family casually moves to another country, you have to switch roommates. But just because you're parting ways for right now it doesn't have to be permanent. You can always find your way back together someday. If you truly love someone you never really have to say goodbye for forever.
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