Sunday, December 18, 2011

1 year. 2 campuses. Countless Goodbyes.


At the tail end of the grad trip, I can't help but feel like this is almost anti-climatic. The different buses taking us to the airport from our resort in Galle, Sri Lanka necessitates several sessions of "good byes" as i refer to it.

In these sessions we need to figure out who are the few departing on the first bus, then the next, and so on - and unless you're on the last bus, you are afraid of missing the chance to say your good byes. I already know a handful of people that I wish I had found the time to talk to over these past 5 days, but then again, the nature of the 1yr program is that you prioritize - whether its sleep, fun w/ familiar faces, or just a cold drink by the beach. And in those moments, you "lose" the chance to do other important things.

But so many argue "well, how important can it be if you forgot?" -> and I challenge that statement only because - in a few days, with all that is running through our respective heads/hearts/minds - it really isn't a question of prioritizing as much as it is a question of finding the energy to have these conversations - some of them very difficult for the very reason that you're rebuilding bonds with friends who you have not had the chance to catch up with - and then meeting them on the other side of a goodbye session can just be bittersweet. Maybe that's why I have not made as much effort as I could have.

Or maybe it is because - given the international nature of citizenship & residence at INSEAD - I truly believe that I will probably run into more people in the future from this experience, than from any other school, job, organization in my life.

And for that I'm grateful.

I look forward to celebrating the good times - although this 1 yr on two campuses is over - the countless goodbyes are just starting... and more than that, I look forward to seeing everyone again, if only to say yet another good bye in anticipation of an embracing hello we'll say to one another in the future.

Time to pack up & head out!

Oh the opportunities that await us...

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