Saying Goodbye

Hello! Yes, I am back! I deeply apologize for the long hiatus! If you have read my last article you know that I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal problems. I had promised myself as well as Nik that I would come out with a whole bunch of new articles for the summer and I can’t express how sorry I am for not being able to do so.

Goodbyes. They can be complex things when looked at from different perspectives. Some are simple and happy whereas others are complicated and can be sad for everyone. The type of goodbye I will be focusing on today would be the more complicated kind. The reason being because they can be  difficult and people may be struggling with things such as this.

For this article, I am going to be using what I had gone through these past couple months to lead up to a few tips I had learned that might help anyone who may be grappling with a similar situation.

Because this school year had ended I was face to face with several goodbyes, most of them being with friends that I had come to know very well. Now I’m not a senior, but I did have a few senior friends from orchestra. Both Nik and I had gotten particularly close to our concertmaster who was a senior and had left at the end of the year. For the purpose of the article we shall be calling her Brooklyn.

Both of us were devastated when the time had come for her to leave. We knew it had been looming over our heads for quite a long time, but the fact it had come so soon was frightening. On our last day with the seniors we had been watching a movie in class. For the most part Nik and I were distracted but as the end of the class period was drawing near, Brooklyn had asked us, as well as a few of her other friends, to take some pictures.

Brooklyn had brought in her polaroid and after a few group shots, Nik and I had asked if we could take a few pictures with just the three of us. By the end of the pictures, Nik and I were in tears. Well actually more than half of our class was in tears. Brooklyn may have been our favorite senior, but seeing our other friends leave hurt just as bad.

Before getting to the tips, there is another goodbye I would like to address. This one is about another friend of both Nik and I. Before I had begun my hiatus, Nik had met someone who we shall be calling Kale. Kale, if you ever find this blog, well… Hi? Moving on. Well, Nik had introduced us and long story short, he ended up having to leave as well.

I was really bitter, but I couldn’t do much about it. He was going to be transferring schools for his own personal reasons. I had found out about his transferring from Nik and honestly, the second I had, my heart just shattered. I remember being told before orchestra, and during class I couldn’t focus on the music. All I could focus on was losing a friend that was special to us.

On the last day of school, we all went out to eat together. A few of Nik and I’s friends were there, including Kale. That day was amazing. It was a lot of fun, but saying goodbye that last time… It was hard. I tried not to think about it, but let’s be honest. Saying goodbye to a friend is never easy.

Yes, goodbyes are hard and can hurt like hell, but they are a natural part of life you can’t avoid. Due to this I have compiled  few tips to help you deal with situations such as these.

1. Don’t be afraid to let out what you feel. ~ Being strong may not be the best option when saying goodbye. It’s best to leave the person you’re saying goodbye to with your true feelings. If you are sad and feel like crying, let out the tears. If you want to wish them all the best then do so. Don’t be scared to be heard.
2. Keep something to remind you of them. ~ Because Brooklyn had brought in a polaroid, Nik and I were able to keep physical pictures of her. You don’t need a polaroid picture to have a keepsake. Even a picture on a phone would work just as well. No phone? Ask them to sign something for you, whether it be a yearbook or even a napkin.
3. Don’t get hung up on the past or the future. ~ When you’re saying goodbye don’t focus on what life in the future is going to be like without them. In addition to that, don’t focus on what life was like with them either. Yes, it’s good to look back from time to time to remember all those amazing moments, but when you’re saying goodbye focus on the present. Make each word you say count by keeping focus on what is going on at that time.
4. Keep in touch. ~ With this day and age keeping in touch is easy. It can be a little awkward asking for someone’s number but it is worth it, especially if this person means so much to you. If you live near that person meet up with them! Kale had met up with our small group of friends at my place one day and that was tons of fun. So stay in touch with that person as best as you can.

So while goodbyes are hard, I really hope these tips help to ease anything you may be feeling. Thank you for reading this week’s edition of “Blog Worthy?” I’m not sure when the next article is going to be up, but I hope it will be soon. Be sure to follow us for any updates!