Goodbye

I've been meaning to write this blog post for half of a week, but I went to Erie and then I came back and things happened and here I am, on Monday writing what I intended to write last Thursday.

Greg has left us. It's sad when a member of a group leaves (in this case, a member of the first-year-ME-grad-student group), especially when they go all the way to Tennessee. That's like, a really far drive from here. Anyway, on Thursday night right after I left the party that he was at on the last night he was in town, after hugging him goodbye ... I cried. The last time I cried when I said goodbye was that fateful evening in August 2006, the night before my closest high school friends and I went off to college for the first time. Otherwise, I have taken goodbyes like a champ, really I have. I think I've gotten used to it, my life is so "changey" these past few years that it seems a regular part of life. What was different about this goodbye (I think) was the fact that MY life wasn't changing at all. But a piece of it was. I felt kind of left behind... actually, I felt a lot left behind.

Greg has been the one constant in my grad school experience so far. I met him that very first time I visited Penn State as a potential grad student, and then saw him and chatted with him again at the Virginia Tech grad student recruiting weekend. We worked in the same lab together, we took all of the same classes, we did homework together, we lived in the same apartment complex, we went to Mass together sometimes, and we both shared the friendship of the two other Behrend-ites who came to Penn State with me. He follows this blog and went to my ballet recital. And while I feel that we didn't grow quite as close as we could have, I was so sad to see him go. He's been a big part of my life here, and an excellent friend. I will miss him. I already miss him.

Good luck Greg. We know you'll do great things wherever your life may lead you. And while I'm sad to see you go, I know that you will be happier in Tennessee. Because, well, you just will be :-). Enjoy your snow-less winters and your southern sweet iced tea :-). And don't forget to visit!