Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Thursday
June 1,2000
Volume 101, Issue 164
Emerald
You’d never guess from the
skies these days, but sum
mertime is sneaking up fast
and most of us are overly ea
ger to change pace and experi
ence some hot summer adven
tures. These plans may be
outside of Eugene and away from
the Duck friends you know and
love so well. And this may actu
ally be an exciting idea for now
because of its potential for bring
ing new experiences, so perhaps
there’s no trace of sadness for
leaving the college crew tem
porarily. But don’t underestimate
the power of three months; any
thing could happen. So when
you say goodbye this year, take
the famous words of wisdom to
heart, and do it like there’s no to
morrow.
Because we can’t predict to
morrow or redo yesterday, the
use of our time becomes very im
portant. But somehow people fo
cus so much on the big events
that they forget that it’s the little
moments that are most signifi
cant. Time passes us by, and sud
denly we find ourselves only one
week away from summer again,
with another year behind us.
This gets scary because no one
wants to suddenly wake up a sen
ior who regrets not having done
everything he or she wished. But
while the major activities such as
landing that phatty internship,
studying abroad and backpack
ing Europe seem to be significant
ventures, there’s one thing you
should repeatedly do at this time
of year to reduce the chance of
one of the greatest regrets of all:
say the proper goodbyes.
Now for those of us who are re
turning in fall, saying goodbye to
friends who are going off to dif
ferent places for the summertime
is no biggie. It’s not like you’re
never going to see them again
right? Three months filled with
occasional e-mails, phone calls
and maybe even a few visits
doesn’t seem like much of a sepa
ration. As a result, many summer
goodbyes consist of a casual
farewell phone call, some weak
hugs and maybe a few tight hand
shakes.
But you’ve just got to give your
friends some more love before
the summer because you never
really know when you are going
to see them in the same shape
and form. Who knows what a
summer back with the high
school gang can do or what kinds
of changes too much family expo
sure can create?
Also, there’s no guarantee that
you’re even going to see all of
your friends next year, or at least
not as often. Almost everyone
changes living arrangements,
lifestyles and atmospheres, and
they may not be as accessible
anymore. The people who are lit
erally an arm’s reach away now
may be miles away next year.
Sadly
enough,
conven
ience can
sometimes
determine
friends.
Then
there are the
i moreheart
I breaking
| what-ifs.
You expect
to come
back with
the ability to
see whomever you used to hang
out with, but sometimes this isn’t
the case. Not to be extremely pes
simistic, but what if something
unfortunate happens to them
over the summer? You never
know. Or what if they just don’t
come back at all? I came back this
past fall surprised to find that
two of my close friends had de
cided to transfer schools over the
summer. I wish I could have giv
en them more than a “see ya lat
er” the last time I saw them.
I’m not going to focus too
much on the depressing conse
quences of a summer away. But
the bottom line is that some of
the people who are a part of your
life now may not be in fall, or it
just might not be the same. So say
goodbye in a way you feel is more
than casual. Instead of just hav
ing those “One day we should
...” conversations, actually fol
low up on the plans. Throw that
out of control party you’ve been
too scared to have. Or even give
in to the urge to kiss those lips;
the opportunity may not be
around for long.
Because life defies the expect
ed. We can’t fast forward through
summer to see what place our
friends will have in our lives next
year. And once the new year
starts, we can never go back to
say goodbye one more time. So
do it like there’s no tomorrow.
Beata Mostafavi is a columnist for the
Oregon Daily Emerald. Her views do not
necessarily represent those of the Emer
ald. She can be reached via e-mail at
bmostafa@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
Beata
Mostafavi
Bryan Dixon Emerald