“Hating Goodbyes - My Pessimistic Side Takes Over!”
Goodbye represents the end of something. It can be amazing if you are saying goodbye to anything negative or sad, like saying goodbye to hot summers or saying goodbye to difficult times. However, goodbyes are so much sadder when you have to give up good times or something that you enjoyed having.
I hated saying goodbye to my family back in Dubai, even though I knew it wasn’t the last time I would see them. I hated leaving my friends after all the time we spent together. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t only because I had grown to care about these people, but it was also because I felt safe and calm around them. I felt like no matter what these people saw me do, they already know the real me so I don’t have to be on guard and watch my words.
Now, because of my own stubbornness, I am in a relatively strange place and have been trying to connect with other like-minded people. So you can imagine my disappointment when I grew close to someone, only to have to let them go at the end of our year together.
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I liked my class and classmates. In design, your creativity and talent are your biggest assets. The people in my class were not a bunch of snobs who thought they were too good for others. I was friends with people who were amazing at their work, yet so humble that they were willing to tutor me into improving. I am the kind of person who likes to put in all of my efforts in everything academic. I am very competitive and it bothers me if I am not the best at anything I do.
Design classes grinded my gears because I really wasn’t the best. It wasn’t typical studying, you were either creative or you were average. I was average, and had this notion in my mind that I cannot improve just based on hard work. I started neglecting the work altogether and wanted to give up on the program. That is, until my more than average friends started teaching me ways to improve. They taught that in design, time management, patience and research are the key. I could not procrastinate when it came to doing projects and I should not expect my brain to come up with creative ideas if I never feed it any creativity from other sources. So I started looking at ideas and creative ways of doing things on the internet. I started seeing my surroundings with the eyes of a critical designer instead of just an ordinary individual. I started managing my time better. I improved not only academically; I also improved in my personal life. Time management helped me juggle my school, work and family life. I got less depressed and looked forward to the challenges.
After going through all of that, there is certain bond you form with your friends. Now, on the last day of the semester, the last day in Design Foundation, I had to say goodbye to all these amazing, fun and supportive people; this is what I hate doing. Of course we promise to stay in contact and get together, but everyone knows it won’t be the same.
The sad part is that it is not just the friends that I didn’t want to say goodbye to, it was also my teachers. They were these incredibly fun, full of life people who treated us with courtesy, respect but also like friends. I wasn’t afraid to talk to my teachers, tease them and often share my concerns, academic or personal, with them.
I told one of my professors about how I hate saying goodbye and he told me something so simple yet so very meaningful. He said, “Don’t think of it as the end, think of it as a new beginning.” Being a tad bit pessimistic, I tend to concentrate on all the negative things. It was nice to see a silver lining amidst all the depressing things. So, I decided to hang on to my friends and stay connected with my professors, even if it is just through Facebook. I also decided to be a little less pessimistic and a little more happy and excited for the future.
So, if you are having the holiday blues (is that even a thing?), don’t worry. Every time something ends, another thing begins. Enjoy your holidays; keep in touch with your friends and most of all, be happy no matter how many goodbyes come your way!
Read more about Baneen's time at Humber here http://www.i-studentglobal.com/student-blogs/bloggers/baneen-fatima