The Final Goodbyes

I have 1 more day until my journey begins, and I’ve begun the hard process of saying goodbye to my friends and family.
I would say this is bittersweet, but it’s more just like bitter. Who knew that saying goodbye for a year would be so hard? 
The actual thought of physically being away from my friends and family isn’t what I’m worried about. I’m worried that once I get back, everyone will have changed. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to someone that I will never meet again, and once I get back, the metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly will have already taken place. This really isn’t the case for family so much as it is for friends. After all, we are so young and our teens go by so quickly and we change all the time.
I hate having to say goodbye to people that I won’t see for a year. It is so hard! But at the same time, I am excited to go on this journey to Germany; I will meet so many new people and friends while I am over there.
Tomorrow is my last day in Mississippi before I leave for D.C. I am going to try to enjoy it as much as I can and soak it all up.