It's Starting to Hit

It's starting to hit me that I am not going back to Miami this fall.  Dozens of friends have changed their profile pictures, advertising events like the back-to-school activities fair and other philanthropic events; others are moving into their new apartments and beginning RA training; others have already started medical school at different campuses than we used to share; and packing is in full swing as boxes on boxes and pieces of furniture are being packed properly to move me to another state instead of a city just 6 hours down the road.  It's not even just that.  It's the fact that I am packing a completely different wardrobe than I ever wore in undergrad, with significantly less pairs of shorts and tank tops and sorority shirts replaced with leggings, jeans, sweaters, coats, boots and multi-seasonal items.  While I feel a pang of jealousy that I won't be there to help plan Homecoming (my favorite school event) or work sorority recruitment or attend weekly football games, that jealousy is replaced with excitement towards living in a new city, taking classes in a subject I have always been curious about and new opportunities to get involved.  I absolutely love the quote above because it captures the sentiment perfectly; I will never forget all of the great times that I had at Miami and the memories shared with friends, and I know that they will live on forever.  Rather than a goodbye, it is more like a "see ya later" because I will want to come back someday and it will still feel like home.  And with that, I close with something a friend once told me: "thank goodness au revoir means 'see you later' because I can never imagine not seeing you again."