Goodbyes have never been an easy thing for me. I'm already an emotional person; in fact, most would say I almost literally wear my heart on my sleeve. However, I haven't ever been able to avoid a single goodbye -- from leaving Michigan when visiting my grandparents to leaving college to go home for the summer. There are many ways that I've tried to make saying goodbye easier for myself, such as simply saying, "See you later," or avoiding saying goodbye altogether. Nothing ever works; goodbyes remain just as hard as they have ever been.
1. Saying goodbye means you have to leave.
Let's be real, leaving is probably one of the worst parts about saying goodbye. No one wants to do it, but we all have to at some point.
2. Goodbye means you have to do life without one, or some, of your favorite people for however long.
Overall, goodbyes suck. And knowing that, on top of that, you have to go without seeing whoever you're saying goodbye to sucks even worse.
3. You really don't know how soon or how long it will be before you see them again.
This sucks more than knowing you have to do life without them. It may be a very short time before you see them or what seems like forever. You don't ever really know. And if you do, the wait is torture.
4. You have to wait a bit before you see each other again.
The waiting game is never fun and just the thought of that makes saying goodbye harder.
5. Nobody wants to be forgotten.
Nobody I have ever known has admitted to liking the idea of being forgotten. It's scary. In a way, this fear is always a part of saying goodbye. It may not happen, but it doesn't make saying goodbye any better.
6. Goodbyes mean new beginnings.
Nobody can deny it. New beginnings are scary; they're scary because they're unknown. And the fear of the unknown isn't fun to have to deal with.
7. Sometimes, goodbyes mean broken promises.
Broken promises can't be avoided, but a promise that's broken after a goodbye is even harder. You may have promised that you would never forget each other, but then again that promise may end up broken. And that just sucks.
8. Saying goodbye means silence will follow.
Nothing speaks louder than silence, and the silence that follows goodbye is insane. You remember all of the great memories and know that those may never come again.
9. And, ultimately, goodbye means goodbye.
This statement seems utterly redundant, but it's so true. You may be OK soon, but you won't be OK now because goodbye means goodbye. You have to leave. Goodbye causes unwanted silence. Goodbye causes unwanted emotions. And sometimes, goodbye may even mean being forgotten.
I'm here to say it's OK not to want to say goodbye. It's OK to become emotional when you have to say it. It's OK to say goodbye even if it may not feel like it. Goodbye may mean change, but change is OK.
"Thanks for the friendship, thank you for the smile. Thanks for the love you showed me even though it was only for a while. True my heart was broken and yes, my eyes did cry. But the pain is all over now cause I have learned to say goodbye."
