The first of my close friends left Miami this morning. Never again will we walk down the halls of Northwestern together as literacy teachers. Her life is pulling her in very exciting directions, and I could not be more proud. But in some ways more palpable than exiting college, I feel the sadness of the loss of the immediacy and physicality of these friendships as one by one, we fade away from Miami. The growth, the pain, the tears, the laughter, and countless late nights whether grading or dancing–I couldn’t have done these last two years without you.
And I could go on and name names, but those who mean the world to me, I hope already know how large of a role they played in keeping me afloat and still hoping these last two years.
To my co-workers, thank you for supporting and guiding me. To my non-work friends, thank you for listening and making countless crazy memories with me. There will probably never be a time that I won’t be sitting somewhere and randomly think to myself “Remember when in Miami _____.”
So with this, my last weekend here, remember, friends, when we were unprepared, wide-eyed fresh from college kids who came to Miami, had their hearts ripped out and rebuilt and reopened a thousand times over, and wiped away one last tear before hugging goodbye–but only for now, never forever.
Odelia Younge 