The first goodbyes

The inevitable good-byes are underway and as much as you try to prepare yourself for them, it still hurts more than you expect. How do you say goodbye to the people who have been closest to you for a year of your life and whom you might never see again?

This morning, I put my four best girl-friends into a taxi and wished them well, waving and blowing kisses while they drove away and trying desperately not to burst into tears. I failed of course, and even typing this makes the lump in my throat return. It finally feels real, now. I am leaving Woodstock and soon this amazing year will be a memory, slowly fading with time. I will see some of my friends again, I hope, but there are many more that I will not and that is a hard thing to accept.