Saying Good Bye ... Or Rather See You Later

I have been saying good bye to people throughout the week. The first few were not too bad. Don't get me wrong though because I am sad I won't see them for some time. But the more times I say good bye, the closer I get to crying. The closer I get to crying, the more the situation becomes real. I leave my college town tomorrow. Today was tough because I stopped by my old job and said good bye to my work family and a few friends and yesterday I said good bye to a couple of people I am super close with including my psychologist. In all actuality, I said "See you next year!" to my work family and "see you later!" to everyone else. My work family has been fairly constant throughout the four years. There have been a few changes, but as the years have progressed, my bond with those individuals has grown and become strong. 

When you think about it, saying bye to people seems so final. It sounds like I will never see them again. I do realize there are a few people that I may never see again, but I have my fingers crossed and my hopes up high that I will see them all and on purpose! I quite honestly refuse to hope for anything less. 

Anyway, leaving is getting harder and harder to think about. Don't, even for one second, believe that I am not excited for all the possibilities that are ahead of me, it is just hard to leave people knowing I will not see them for a year. These are the people I grew up with in the last four years and I am very attached to them. They have seen me at my high and low points. They have seen me smile, cry, laugh, scream, everything. They have witnessed my battle with depression and have helped me work through it.  In the last four years, I have become the woman I want to be, with a few small exceptions. (These exceptions are what I hope to accomplish on my trip.) These are people that I care about even if I care more for them than they do for me. I am glad to be the leaving everyone on my own terms because they are not leaving me. It is easier this way. 

T-minus 16 days