The "Good" in Goodbye: Part Two

Three-and-a-half achingly long and simultaneously unbelievingly quick years ago, I started this blog the day before I left to begin an undergraduate degree at Montana State University. My first post was called "The 'Good' in Goodbye," and it was one terrified young woman's attempt to find hope for the future. The goodbyes I said then were mostly bitter, and my post attempted to latch on to some sweet.

It seems only fitting, then, to bookend this journey with the second half of the post (the true bookend would be to shut the blog down, now, but I need someplace to continue rambling). Unlike when I left Wenatchee, this goodbye is happily anticipated. I have learned so much in Bozeman, academically and otherwise, but it has also come at a cost. There is no where in the world where I have felt so lonely and out of place, even after months upon years of living here. This goodbye is exciting and terrifying all at the same time. It's mostly sweet, but the bitter is there, too.

Like I did before, I want to focus on the good. There are hellos that started in August 2012 that have become my goodbyes today, and I'm sorry to see them go. There are people that have made up the rhythms of my daily life for years and suddenly, I have no idea when I am going to see them again. At least when I left for college, I knew I would be home for holidays and breaks; there's no such reassurance now.

And so, without further ado, here are the memories I'm celebrating this week:

The first time it snowed and I realized I had no idea what I had gotten myself into,

It was October 3rd, for goodness sake.
and how the weather never really got better from there...


I promise it was sixty degrees when I got dressed.
For years of fun Halloween costumes,
Freshman.

Sophomore.


Junior.

Junior.
Senior.
And when we couldn't decide if we wanted to celebrate Halloween or Christmas.

For all those times I got overly excited meeting animals,



It's Li'l Sebastian!
And the Christmas I got turned into a white elephant present.
For my first 5k,

For those times we recreated photos,
May 2013.

May 2015.
For all the retreats that taught me about God,

To all the friendships that taught me about life. Thanks for being there, friends. Thanks for the lessons in vulnerability and hope, for the abundant laughter, for late night movies and study parties, and for teaching me that the most worthwhile friendships are the ones you have to work for. I love you dearly. 


























It may have been a tough ride, but I'm still proud to be a Bobcat. I've learned a lot in the last four years (not the least of which is the fact that bobcats are not actually as large as the Spirit statue). Here's to more lessons and laughter and love in the journeys to come.

Senior.
Freshman.



Goodbye, Montana. It's been good. 






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