To End Well

Many students are heading back to school very soon (or perhaps have already done so.)

For the first time ever, I won’t be. (Though I will be back at Kuyper College…more on that another time, perhaps)

So it’s only natural to think back on my time in school, and more specifically, my last year. As usual, things didn’t go exactly how I had planned, but the year turned out, overall, fairly okay. There are things I could have differently though; some things just better, and some at all.

Therefore, I offer these three humble suggestions in order To End Well. Not just a school year or school career, but whatever endings you may encounter.

• Breathe deep, take notice, pay attention. Endings bring about lots of “lasts”–for the end of a school year (or school career), last classes, last walks down certain hallways, last meals in the dining hall, and more. Notice these things. And the second to lasts. And fifteenth to lasts. Be present for all sorts of memories that will linger long after the ending.
• Leave well. As much as possible, leave on a good note; particularly when it comes to people. You never know if or when you might see them again.
• Be present. Endings are often followed by a beginning, but don’t rob the ending of its worth. There is goodness there too.
• Feel what you feel. If you are elated about the ending, be elated; if you are devastated, be devastated. Endings are complicated things that will likely bring about a myriad of emotions, and that’s fine. Don’t act elated if you are devastated, and don’t act devastated if you are elated. Own your feelings.

I did not do these perfectly; sometimes I failed miserably. And this list is by no means exhaustive–ending well looks different for each person. Yet these are things I have learned, and wish I could have done better. Perhaps my next ending I will do better.

Til next time…

~Brianna!~

 

(p.s. Are there ways to end well you’d add?)