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Farewells. Farewell

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Although farewells and goodbyes make most of us cry, especially when it comes to saying it to colleges which have been our home away from home, they are in a way very necessary to our existence.

No one likes to stay in a rut. If we were perpetually stuck in a place, no matter how wonderful it is, the thought of immobility would hamper our creativity, our hopes, dreams and the creation of any goals. We would be hanging in limbo, floating through time in zero-gravity, with no sense of direction. Goodbyes make it easier for us to manage our time accordingly, to do full justice to the present so that we can make a better tomorrow.

Come April and the lawns of the University are littered with decorations of the seniors’ graduation dinners and farewells. Endless speeches of regret, love, loss, ambition abound in our hallowed halls as each batch grapples with the question: After this, what? In a way, facing this question is extremely vital to our existence as healthy, rational, contributors to our world’s legacy. We need to come to answers to this question in our own ways, decide what we want and grow up. The process of becoming an adult comes to fruition at this moment.

Farewells also serve another important purpose. They make us treasure the countless memories of school and college life. As loss sinks in slowly and we realise that we might never meet some of these people again, we tend to be kinder, more cheerful and less angry versions of ourselves. Amidst the hectic churn of entrance exams, internships and applications for student loans and grants that all final year students face, they also have to come to terms with this realisation of impermanence.

Such a sense binds us all. And hence, we do more for our institutions, willing to leave our mark, we love more and we definitely, smile more. Like, Ozymandius, we leave our sculptures of bittersweet memory behind. In the process, we also leave a part of us behind. The part that would wander around the canteens, doggedly follow the teachers and think fondly (I know!) of assignments. Long after we leave, this spirit of loss and gain, past and present, would tie us to our Alma matter, our city and ultimately, ourselves.

Feature Image Credits: EAge Tutor

Sara Sohail

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