It feels like yesterday that we were moving back to college, unpacking hordes of clothing and hanging posters in various locations around Gainesville. The atmosphere was fresh and new, even more so for the freshmen experiencing life in the swamp for the very first time. There were projects, Study Edge lectures, game days, nights at midtown no one remembers, breakfast at Bagels and Noodles and a plethora of activities specific to Gainesville that we’ve come to know and love.
But it’s not the entertainment this town has to offer (usually located in a shabby, run-down establishment) that makes life here so unique, it’s the people we choose to spend our time with.
As young adults who have recently left the nest, we have to get used to packing up and moving on very quickly. We went from a permanent residence to various homes across the country, possibly even the world if you chose to spend a semester abroad. There’s school, travel, internships and other tasks that sent us spiraling out into reality with items we don’t need in multiple storage spaces. So naturally, we latch on to other people as our source of comfort and familiarity.
Those half-assed, up and down high school relationships rarely occur in the college setting, because as a young person living independently for the first time, you get to know other people on a much more personal level. You rely on them to keep your shifting world stable.
Unfortunately, letting those people go when the time comes is difficult.
I’ve been in state of complete and utter despair these past few days because I know change is coming. The people I spend the majority of my days with are suddenly hugging goodbye and walking out the door, some of them coming back in the fall, some of them gone for good. Next year will be entirely different — these friends I thought I couldn’t live without won’t be in the picture.
As much as we know life will continue being awesome and that there will always be people we love surrounding us, the fear of change and letting go trumps all positivity about the future.
This idea of moving on and accepting change is inevitable this time of year, considering there’s no more ridiculous weed out courses keeping us glued to our laptops, at least for a few months. But as young adults we also need to realize that oftentimes letting go is a decision you choose to make for yourself. It might be a miserable friendship or time to end things with your significant other.
Whatever the relationship is, most college students struggle with losing that familiarity they find in another person, even if the situation is toxic. If we don’t learn to embrace these feelings now, the case of the overdue, drawn out relationship will continue taking place far into adulthood.
The best part about being this young is that we have plenty of time to make the same mistakes multiple times. Little do we realize how easy it is to make a mistake by doing absolutely nothing. When those friends (and more than friends) leave this summer, maybe you will grow apart, and that is terrifying. But each time it happens, new people come into your life that mean just as much, maybe even more. When we learn to embrace change, we can truly figure out what’s right for us.
