When I was getting ready to leave for Colorado, I made sure to say goodbye to everything I loved. I had a bucket list of things to do that summer before I had to leave. The list consisted of things like eating at Umami Burger or In N Out, going to the beach or LA one last time, and other things like that. I didn’t want to leave without doing everything “one last time.” So I went around trying to complete everything on my list. I remember taking a ton of pictures and writing everything down in a journal.

I felt like I might not be able to do any of these things again, even though I subconsciously knew I would be back in just four months. I guess I was just worried my best friends would move on without me and replace me. Or maybe I wanted to do everything with my boyfriend in case we couldn’t in the future because a lot can change in four months. Or maybe I just thought I would miss everything too much. I didn’t realize how much I loved California until this past summer. I realized that the things on my list proved how much of a Californian I am.

I also realize now that instead of saying goodbye to the good things that I love, I should’ve said goodbye to the bad things instead. Like the times I got no’s instead of yeses. Times I felt lonely or sad or mad. To all of the bruises, scrapes, heartbreaks, and times I just plainly got hurt. Because all of the good things will always be there waiting for you to get back. Your friends, your favorite restaurants, your favorite places, and other people you love.

You just have to remember that you’re off making new memories of your own. Just enjoy the time you have while in college. When that’s over, you can go back home, and go back to those places and see all of those people you love. Because things will change, but the people who truly love you back will always be there for you in the end. Those places you love… well, they’ll usually still be there for you unless they decide to rebuild something else in its place (but that’s another story).   In the very end, you will still have those memories and people that you’ll be able to cherish forever. So toast to the good things in life, and say good-bye to the bad. Because when you’re standing there at the end of your life, you want to be able to look back with no regrets.