Goodbyes

Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things for me, and lately I’ve had to do it a lot. I said goodbye to all my friends, family and loved ones as I left Minnesota for my drive to New Orleans. It didn’t help that saying goodbyes in Minnesota takes at least 20 minutes and you keep hugging each other to see if you can make the other person cry first. So, after lots of hugs and some tears, I started on my long journey to NOLA (New Orleans, LA), but I blinked, and the next thing I knew, I was hugging and crying again as I said goodbye to my mom. It was tough to leave her, but as I drove off from the airport after dropping her off I thought this would be my last goodbyes for a while, but I was so wrong! Next, I was flying to Stony Point, NY to have YAV (Young Adult Volunteer) orientation with almost all 85 of the volunteers in the program this year. It was overwhelming at first. I got to see a lot of the friends I had already made at the Discernment Event, but there were also so many new people I hadn’t met yet. So, throughout the week, we learned lots and prepared ourselves for our year of service,and I made it my mission to meet almost everyone. As the week went on, I made so many friendships, and even a few of the ones I had already had grew even stronger. I’m so glad that I am able to be a part of this program and be able to be in community with them. As the end drew near, I knew I had to face the facts and say goodbyes again, which isn’t very fun for me, Now, as I head back to New Orleans, I realize I get to have an infinite amount of hellos. So, even though goodbyes are hard and sad, I get to have so many new hellos and experience so many different things this year. I’m just so happy and thankful that I to have this opportunity.