Goodbyes hold more meanings than we think.

We don't what the future holds for us all, but the thought that we all have the plan to be something that makes an impact on this world; is something to be proud of. But we can only be that person we aim to become by taking the risks and stepping forward with our life.

There comes this point in all of our lives where we must look back on the memories, laugh with joy, and walk away from those closest to us.

 It’s this time where we realize who really means the world to us, and who shaped us to the person we are today throughout the years. It’s really the reality check to us all that time flies by like no other; though my sister has been in college for the past two years, she’s making this huge step and transferring out to Arizona. Saying goodbye to her wasn’t a terrible feeling until now sitting here recognizing the fact that when I get home this week, she won’t be there to bicker with, or go shopping with, or just sit around with like I’ve always done for the past eighteen years of my life. It’s the feeling of putting on tennis shoes without socks; uncomfortable and something is missing but you know if the socks were there, they’d probably look bad and it’s better without them in the long run—knowing my sister is at the University of AZ, there’s something missing and it doesn’t feel right but she’s going to get so far in life by making this step and doing what she knows will get her success. Being here in Chicago my first year for school, is a big step for myself. Coming from a family in Franklin, WI that does everything together and has the best family vacations; is so hard to just leave and to know that I’m no longer a kid anymore is the hardest part of it all.

It’s not the goodbye that always gets us upset, it’s what happens during the goodbye; all the memories you’ve shared with that person/ those people, flood your mind and it’s the realization that all they are now are memories and the probability that anything will be the same again, is not likely. I always tell myself that whatever is meant to be, will happen with its reasons. Sometimes I can never understand some things, but at the end of the day everything that occurs and goes on in my life is all for a reason for the future; positive or negative, good or bad, it’s the way to grow up and the way to know that sometimes life isn’t fair but it’s the journey that you make that makes it worth living and memorable.

So when I cry buckets because the closest people to me are either leaving to Florida or Arizona, or upper Wisconsin; it’s all because I replay everything that I’ve ever been through with these people. Some of them all my life, some the past seven years, and some even just a few. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known them, it’s how they’ve affected my life and who I am is what matters the most. Every picture I have of me and my friends hold a huge story; the memories and how we’ve grown up together and made ourselves the people we all are today. Saying goodbye, or see you in a few months, is harder to do than say; but to know that we’re all going to be something bigger than we are today (in our careers I hope) is what we all have to recognize and be proud of. Meeting new people, and hanging up our high school years is all about growing up.