It is almost impossible for me to believe how fast this semester has gone by. Believe it or not, this is the second to last issue of The Quad for 2013. When The Quad picks back up next year, the ground will probably be frozen and I will be a West Chester University alumna. And even though there is still one more issue left this semester, this week is the last one for me as Op-Ed editor, as my successor will be officially taking over next week.
The good news: next week I get to lean back in my chair and chill while The Quad’s new Op-Ed editor lays out the week’s pages. The bad news: this is my last time writing to all of you, my last chance to attempt to say something quirky, clever, or wise. The really hard part though, is figuring out how to say goodbye.
In fact, the task of saying goodbye seemed so difficult at first that I actually turned to my browser for help. As though I were searching for dinner ideas or cute new hairstyles, I started where every good college student starts when they don’t have a clue what else to do: I Googled “ways to say goodbye.” Needless to say, the list of results was barely helpful.
Most of the top results were lyrics, music videos, or sound tracks for Train’s song, “50 Ways to say Goodbye,” which turned out to be a better result for ways to die than ways to say goodbye. Next, after learning salutations in a few different languages, including, but not limited to “Bis dann,” “Avrio,” and “Tot Ziens,” I moved on to a list of more amusing goodbyes, my favorite of which was, “May you never urinate the sweet sweet sounds of 70’s disco funk.”
In the end though, it turned out that the reminder of a fairly familiar language’s goodbye was exactly what I needed: “aloha.” The special thing about aloha is that it doesn’t just mean goodbye, it also means hello. Like every end is the beginning of something new, every goodbye is also a hello.
This particular goodbye is actually a number of hellos. First, it is hello to the new op-ed editor of The Quad, Adam Farence, and I am sure that in his capable hands, along with those of all the writers that have worked so hard this semester, the op-ed section will survive and thrive without me. For me though, it is hello to the real world, hello to new places and faces, and hello to endless possibilities.
Each of you will one day have to say goodbye. I hope that when you do, you also will remember aloha. Goodbye West Chester University. I will always remember you.