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May 31, 2005
Deja Vu
I commenced Sunday. As I sat in an enormous gown and rediculous cap listening to speakers tell me that this is the beginning (of what, nobody knows) and that love is the answer, I had the strange feeling that I had done the same exact thing four years ago.
After the ceremony, I began to feel my first twinge of nostalgia. As I walked away from the robed mob of students and professors, I wondered how long it would be before I saw my friends again and if I wondered if I would ever see my professors again. Some of them I don't care to see again. Others have been both respected mentors and good friends, whose instruction I anticipated. But they will have new students next year.
Yet again, I went through the same process four years ago. Some of my classmates I haven't seen since they walked across the stage to receive their diploma. Others I make it a point to visit on a regular though infrequent basis. My teachers, however, are no longer my teachers. I visited my high school a few times after graduating, but it was no longer my high school. I didn't belong there. I was required to stop in the administration office and pick up a "visitor" name tag before walking through the halls. I chatted with my teachers, but most were occupied with their students.
And so the cycle goes. Meeting new people and saying goodbye to old friends. I realized when I said my last farewell to my college friends, I always said "see ya." At first I thought it was a mistake, but then it occured to me that I would see them again. Perhaps not as frequently, and the circumstances may not be the same, but the hope of a future reunion makes the sorrow of parting much more bearable. And it gives me an excuse to make my word good and arrange a visit next time I'm in town.
Posted by Megan at May 31, 2005 07:20 PM
Comments
Congratulations Megan.
Get everybody's addresses, e-mails and snail-mails, and keep in touch. Remember birthdays and Christmas cards and such.
Keep the nets of relationship mended.
We have some friends who haven't missed our birthdays and those of our children in more than 20 years. Very impressive.
Posted by: Dan Benson at June 1, 2005 08:10 AM