“Parting is such sweet sorrow,

that I shall say good night till it be morrow"

Thoroughly sentimental and wonderfully sad, the scene of Romeo standing below his beloved Juliet pained to the depth of his heart, not wanting to leave her for a single moment illustrates just how much bidding farewell to a loved one can be tragic. 

A farewell is hard for every person who is cutting off roots and leaving behind a part of them to start something fresh, but unanticipated.

People say goodbyes all the time. Some say goodbye to a care-free life to enter a phase or position of discipline. Others say goodbye to their days of gallivanting in school corridors and companions who seemed inseparable at a time to meet days of hard work and a whole new world. 

The farewells I find the most excruciating are the ones that childhood friends bid. Some put on a brave face. They are the ones to break the hug, turn and walk away with a forced smile and eyes brimming with tears that are ready to spill and make a mess. Then there is the other friend who just saw them leave; with emotions all over the place, trembling all over and words and promises still sputtering out. That friend left standing right there did not want to break the hug, you know.  

Me? I'm that rolling stone that the moss did not bother to sit on. But let's not worry about that now.

It's all about the strings attached. That decides how much pain you'll feel when you leave. If we look at the kid who has spent his entire life in one school and one neighbourhood, saying that "He'll have a hard time, that poor kid" will be an understatement. Snipping off every string attached to every friend, every teacher, every favourite spot; I can't begin to imagine what that feels. Reality check: every part of your life that is about to be left behind will be nothing more than a good movie that you would like to watch again. Except here, we don't have the rewind and repeat buttons on the control panel of life. 

There are a few reasons I can come up for why humans feel despondent while parting with someone or something dear. Well, for number one, it is like human beings to resist change. We don't want to leave our comfort zones that include people and places we know. We completed the knowing process back when our hearts knew no evil and our mind was untainted from "what the world has to offer". Learning was a part of our nature. Now we're all grown up. They spend 13 years in one place with the same people and a few Netflix shows, and kids think they know it all. That is exactly why they can't learn new ways and know new people from new places so easily. It takes time to adjust, and that is not a slide on silk. 

The people I find most interesting are the ones who think the future big step is still far, far away. They fully live in the moment. And then, when The Moment arrives, when they leave with the huge possibility of never being able to see them again, that is where the trouble arrives. That possibility sits constantly on their chests, enjoying the little storm that it has started. That is when they ask “Why is bidding adieu so difficult?!” Well, it just is. 

No matter how much people insist on not caring about anyone and anything; when the time comes, all hard shells crack, letting the sticky, gooey emotions flow. That will be the moment when everyone realizes and appreciates the worth of everyone. That is when we are thankful for all that we could experience and feel. 

Walking away, one is comforted by the thought of crossing paths with people from their past now and then. That thought right there is the only thing that keeps them going. After that, once the train has changed its tracks, once again, all is well.

Change is necessary. I say you welcome it with open arms! The more accepting you are, the more conforming it will be.  Have courage. It’s for the best. 

So, to the graduating class of 2020--whose blood runs through the waters of the school building--you have had your fill of school memories. 

It's time you make new ones.