Transition

I remember 4 days into frosh week, sitting on a ledge in my residence stairwell and crying for no particular reason and also every reason I could think of. Dramatic? Yup. I have lots of emotions.

I’ve never been one to deal with transitions very smoothly. Grade 9, 1st year at Waterloo, and now, the year after graduation. These years in transition have been the most difficult, and yet, the most defining. These are the years when I’ve met my best friends, and also lost touch with close friends.

Perhaps I’m simplifying the logic that A always leads to B, but this year hasn’t been any differently. I’ve met some amazing friends, mentors, and changemakers in this past year who have taught me important lessons and challenged my ideas, while making me laugh along the way. And on the flip side, I’ve lost touch with some friends and will soon see some move on (and away).

In a silly way, I feel like my training wheels are coming off. The people I have depended on so greatly to help my realize my potential, to encourage me, and push me to be better, will no longer be right by my side to hold my hand along the journey; and while this idea initially scared me, I’m so excited for them. Renjie told me that the difference between fear and excitement is simply perspective. My roommate once told me that she’s look at friendships as lines on a graph (disclaimer: the following analogy is very mathie)- some lines run parallel, some lines breaking off (change of slope?), and some new lines constantly being added. Although inevitable, I can’t help but feel sad when there’s a change of slope, no matter how small or how large the change is.  However, I know that they will continue to do great work and I’m so blessed that they have played an important role in my life (so when their success is at a peak, I can smile and say “That’s my friend”). I’m so proud of where they are right now and how far they’ve come along, and can’t wait for other people to meet them and also experience their friendships.

So this transition? It was a bit difficult (and may come with more tears over the next 6 weeks), but I’ve learned some important lessons from this year of transition:

• Team reflection is action and is equally as important as acting
• When thinking/saying “I like the idea of…”, just go for it
• Everyday is a perfect day for a perfect day
• Love and the desire for unity of the seperated, impedes progress
• Match hope and idealism with accounts of reality
• In addition to hope, do all you can and do the best that you can. Sometimes it will be enough, sometimes it won’t be
• Laugh at mistakes, and always, always, learn from them
• Don’t hold on too tightly or let go too loosely
• It’s ok to hoard URLs and nachos come with alot of veggies