So this is goodbye...

Graduation. It's a time of year I remember vividly, not only as an alumni but also as a spectator. It can be a real emotional time; on other occasions it can be a joyous celebration for the ages. At any rate, Graduation is the end of one chapter to our lives & the start of another.

So this is goodbye? Well, Graduation is not only a goodbye to friends & hangouts we've come to know & love with all our hearts; it's also a hello of sorts. Of course, we're saying hello to the real world but we're also saying hello to new cities, new friends, new networks & connections. An event of such magnitude as Graduation isn't saying goodbye after all if we stop to think about it; in the same way, it's not the end of time either. If anything, real life has just began to sink in & it has started in earnest.

So this is goodbye? Graduation, for me, was not about saying goodbye to Muncie...I still visit the place every chance I get. It wasn't about saying goodbye to Greek life & all of its benefits...I'm truly proud to be Greek, to this very day. It wasn't about saying goodbye to many of my old connections & ties (which BTW I still have plenty of). It was about saying hello to the real world, hello to a whole new chapter of my life story, hello to a brand new period in my life.

This isn't goodbye. It's more like hello, on a day like this.