Who writes the handbooks for goodbyes anyway?
“Keep in touch.” “Call/text me when you reach.” “I’ll miss you.” “This isn’t goodbye.”
Bye for now, what an odd feeling, yet, how familiar and unpredictable that one word can mean for all of us. It comes as part of the life package, but it’s the one feature we would all love to get rid off. As someone who used to work in retail, I would offer customers the option to purchase the shampoo, but that meant they would have to get the conditioner to take advantage of a valued pack deal. I remember their faces going like “really?” and proceed to either go with purchasing the valued pack, or politely declining to buy the conditioner, or buying it altogether.
Yeah, goodbye is a little like my days of selling shampoo. We know it is there, but we will try to maneuver our way out of it, or we just accept it. If we are going to say hello to new people, we need to be prepared to say goodbye at some point.
Like every other millennial, I have seen friends/people I look up to/loved one(s), come and go. Whether that means seeing them moving to state/country to live, that we have drifted apart, not part of our lives anymore, or simply our circumstances have changed till we are not as close as before. As time went on, I simply migrated from the thought of “Why you leave me” to “I hope I see you again.”
Learning to accept someone is leaving, to wishing the best for someone, is never an easy thing to do. Because it will mean that things would not go back to the way they were. But, what part of life is supposed to be the same, what would life be without a little roller coaster? It is not always the most fun, but it is the ride that makes it so exciting and worthwhile, instead of what remains at the end of the roller coaster.
After all, we are only human. Dealing with goodbyes will and always be a part of life. If not now, then later. However, we need to also remember goodbyes also mean moving on, because that is the best we can do for ourselves. To keep going on and meeting people who continue to inspire, motivate, as well as listen to us.
Just like every relationship advice, “don’t be sad because it ended, be grateful it happened.” We have one life, and we were able to spend part of it with that (friend), have a good time, and become a different person ourselves. While this does not mean the end of our friendship, it is a change, a new chapter, and a new beginning for them and for us.
petiteshark 