The city of New York rested outside, occasionally using the rays of sunlight to alert me that it was a new day desired to be explored, but I couldn’t care less. 

I sat on my bed in an Airbnb I probably paid too much for, staring at my Snapchat, flipping through Snap stories I didn’t really care about, periodically checking to see who’d viewed mine. 

No, this isn’t some call to abandon social media. 

I was, however, waiting for a specific name to pop up on my viewed list. I’d been doing this for three hours.

You see, I’d lived my adventure weeks before I got to New York. I’d met and had a fling with someone who felt different to me from anyone I’d ever known. Everything had been perfect until it ended a little too early for me. 

I was unable to accept that I was now, for all intents, in a new chapter of my life.

For some of us, high school and the friends we made are as good as it’s ever going to get. 

For others, it’s the dream internship they had to ditch in order to roll back into college. Sometimes it’s a summer fling where we just can’t let go. 

The truth is, we all have moments in life, regardless of our unique time lines, that seem too amazing to ever be topped. Because of this, we try our hardest to cling to things that have already let us go.

At the risk of sounding corny, I have to say that everything has its moment in the sun and the longer we keep gazing, the less bright it shines ‘til it loses its appeal and meaning. 

Here are a few tips to embrace the start of something new.

Step 1:

Turn the page. Take the next step in your life. Yes, you, do it! 

It may seem risky now, but it’s worth it. How are you ever going to know if you don’t try? Besides, the longer you wait, the harder it gets to do it. Rip it like a Band-Aid and start the next phase without hesitation. 

Step 2:

It isn’t always “goodbye,” and when it is, it isn’t always bad. 

For those of us leaving high school, an amazing internship or a job, we get tempted to think we are saying “goodbye,” when we are simply saying “see you later.” 

I am also a believer in the right people at the wrong time. If it’s really meant to be, you’ll meet again, and hopefully that time it’ll work. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t true for all of us. In my case, it was saying “goodbye” to what I thought I needed. At the time, it felt like I would regret not holding on or fighting for what I wanted, but looking back I see that saying “goodbye” was the best decision I could have made. 

When you read a book, the characters don’t disappear at the end of a chapter, they simply introduce new scenarios.

Step 3:

Embrace it. It’s going to happen regardless, right? So, why not make the most of it? 

Look around campus for things that remind you of high school to give you comfort, work that much harder at the major that’s going to land you a more permanent position at your dream job and open your heart to more exciting possibilities.

 

Amanda John is a political science and sociology major and can be reached at [email protected].