So long, Farewell

I am almost embarrassed to admit how many hours I've spent crying in my life. 

From the time my sister went to college up until a few years ago, I cried when we had to say goodbye. (I still tear up sometimes, even though she graduated high school 11 years ago!) I often could not talk to my sister on the phone the fall of her freshman year because all I could do was cry. As the result of a long-distance relationship, I have cried through five years (and counting) of goodbyes at the end of weekends, breaks, & summers. I have even cried to the point of hyperventilating on a few occasions. Clearly I am not good at saying goodbyes.

At this moment I find myself exhausted, emotional, & at the edge of too many goodbyes. I have really grown to like my classmates over the past two years.
I am not ready for 22(+) goodbyes. We have supported each other through a lot. We have celebrated engagements, mourned losses, and bonded over research-related frustrations! I can only imagine that our upcoming graduation banquet will be filled with many tears and people opting to say "see you later" rather than a definitive "goodbye."


ps- I am so thankful that I am coming back to town in the fall for my second fieldwork placement. I am not ready to say goodbye to this city, this university (or its sports teams!), my high schoolers, and so much more.