“You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, I told him, like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again.”

-Azar Nafisi

I never thought the day would come when I would be moving on from Eastern Washington University. It always felt like it was something that would happen in the distant future. But here I am, facing another ending.

I’ll still be able to see my friends and I’ll still be able to go back to EWU whenever I want, but from now on, everything will be just a little bit different. I’ll be in a new place, with new people, learning new things. I’ll be making new memories and learning from new mistakes. I’ll probably change as much in the next two years as I have in the last two.

But despite leaving a place that I love, I’m fortunate that I have had these last few months to come to terms with my time at EWU coming to an end. You never really realize how grateful you are for something until it is gone. I’ve met so many amazing people in Cheney and I’ve done so many things that I was too scared to do before. I’ve had spontaneous days and nights that I’ll hopefully never forget. I’ve learned from my failures and celebrated my successes. I’ve grown up so much.

And now that my time in the little town of Cheney is over, I finally understand that the end of an adventure is the best part. The end is when you get to look back at all you’ve done, all you’ve been through, and see how you’ve changed because of it. The end is when you get to make peace with everything- the good and the bad- and move on.

I used to be scared of endings and of saying goodbye. I’ve always hated the feeling of knowing that I may never see a person again or be the same person that I am in that moment. But you shouldn’t be scared of the endings. Don’t be scared to move on. It’s okay to move on. Your whole life isn’t meant to be lived in the same place with the same people.

So when you get to a point in your life when you are at an ending, try to embrace it. Even the best phases of our lives aren’t meant to last forever. And while I truly believe that endings are the best part, the next best thing is a new beginning.