Learning to Let Go

Today was a day filled with bittersweet feelings. One of my besties, affectionately known as Meg Bunny, will be leaving today for school in Cuba for 7 years. While I wish her all the best, coupled with the fact that I feel an immense sense of pride that she achieved a full scholarship to study for her dream career, I felt sad at the same time.

As much as I have always been in situations where I have had to say goodbye, I've never been good at letting go. Especially when the person I had to let go was leaving for a long time to go somewhere far away. The day she told me she was leaving, I bawled *chuckle* (sometimes I'm a cryer) to the point where another friend who saw me thought someone close to me had died. I think I reacted the way I did because she has been a constant source of support and love for the last 8 months in particular and I started to think of the gap that would be there (made worse by the restrictions to free-flowing communication with Cuba). Then I saw this picture and I found it so funny and thought it ironic that it was 1. posted the same day I found out she was leaving and 2. the chipmunk and accompanying caption captured my feelings perfectly (plus he looked so cute). After looking at it for a while I felt much better and decided that while I would still be sad that she would be leaving, being overcome with sadness would not be where I would leave things for the time she had left in Jamaica. Over the weeks to follow, I made the effort to talk to her at least once a day, spend extra time with her and other friends, simply to appreciate her a little bit more. And as much as I thought I would cry again yesterday when I saw her for what would be the last time in a long while, and today when she finally said "Bye", I didn't. I realized that doing the extra things helped me learn to let go. So even though I'm sure I will probably have a reaction comprising violent bawling and sadness when next I have to face something like that, I think I've figured out a way to cope effectively (maybe one day I wont cry at all) because this time it's all for the best, so it won't be so bad letting go.

Peace & Luv

-Keeta :)