As of April 30th, 2016, I am now a college graduate! After spending almost my entire life in school, it’s hard to believe it is finished. It’s a very bittersweet feeling, indeed. Over the next few weeks I’m going to reflect and share a few lessons I’ve learned. I hope these posts will be especially helpful for those students who are coming after me.
This post originally appeared on Anna’s 1st blog, Annamotion.
In my post about 1 of my favorite quotes from Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,” I discussed the difficulties of facing change–when good things come to an end. The quote says it all. When you’re nostalgically looking back on the good times, don’t cry because it’s over, but rather smile and remember it fondly. Feel blessed that it happened. Today I’m going to talk about a 2nd reason why we can face change with a positive attitude:
Saying Goodbye Means Saying Hello
Goodbyes are tough. Anybody else have a hard time saying goodbye? Some people avoid goodbyes and would rather end things abruptly (like ripping off a band-aid!). Some people have long, drawn out goodbyes. Some avoid it all together and try to live in denial. Some say “see you later” and refuse to say goodbye. As I’ve shared with you before, I’m the kind of person who hates goodbyes so much that even when a stupid TELEVISION SHOW ends and I have to “say goodbye” to FICTIONAL characters I feel like my heart has been ripped out!
Saying goodbye is tough.
But know what?
When you say goodbye, you can now say hello.
Saying goodbye to my formal education means saying hello to applying it in the world (and of course, continuing to learn “in the field”).
Saying goodbye to teachers who taught me so much means saying hello to new mentors who have something to teach me, as well.
Saying goodbye to some friends and fellow classmates means saying hello to some new friends and coworkers.
Saying goodbye to my college dorm of 4 years means saying hello to living with my future husband once we get married in October.
Saying goodbye to the places I knew and loved means saying hello to new places to explore and adore.
Saying goodbye to writing papers means saying hello to writing novels.
Saying goodbye to taking tests means saying hello to testing myself and pushing my limits to chase my dreams and be the best I can be.
Saying goodbye and ending 1 chapter means saying hello and beginning a new chapter!
We may be sad when the credits roll at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but we can look forward to a new Star Wars movie!
The story continues. Life moves on. Seasons end and seasons begin. It is ALL our story and it is good.
Saying goodbye
So what are you saying goodbye to? What has ended that you still need to say goodbye to and move on from? Is there something that hasn’t naturally ended that you need to intentionally end? Do you have a hard time saying goodbye? Remember that saying goodbye means…
Saying hello
What is now before you? What do you have to look forward to? What are you saying hello to? What can you choose to say hello to in order to start the next beautiful chapter of your life?
Check out the other posts in this series:
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