HOW DO you say goodbye? Honestly, I don’t know. For the past years, I didn’t have to. I was always the one who was left behind. Now it is my turn to move on and I am learning how to do it on my own.
I am fighting the urge to hope that I could bring back the past and make right what went wrong, because I know I couldn’t.
Still, I can’t help but wish I could freeze that certain space in time and relive the happy memories I once had in the ‘V.’
After all, those were some of the best days of my life. Right now, I could not imagine how my life would have been like without the ‘V.’ It had been a very crucial turning point in my life, Before I became part of the V, I was a naive student whose world revolved around the classroom. I was oblivious of everything and everyone else except my academic subjects and my small circle of friends.
But even as I entered the heavy wooden door of Room 112, I never realized how much being a V staffer would change my life.
Being in the V helped me to learn more than I could ever learn in class. Since we spent most of our time in the office, my co-staffers and I used to tell each other that we would earn a degree of AB major in Varsitarian, minor in Journalism when we graduate.
Through the tutelage of my editors and advisers, I learned how to unceasingly struggle against mediocrity and strive for excellence in my craft. I learned that I should never rest on my laurels because I am only as good as my last work. It is also through the V that I learned how to expand my world and to be aware of everything and everyone around me.
But Room 112 was not only an office, it was also my second home. In the V, I got the chance to meet diverse yet wonderful people, some of whom have become my closest friends.
I could never forget those presswork overnights when we all acquired the skills of making the most of a 30-minute sleep on a makeshift bed, developing the tolerance for eating Wendy’s burgers or vendo-machine biscuits every night, and understanding each other’s quirks as we tend to go crazy when sleepless.
But even as we fought and bickered under the tension of putting an issue to bed, we all learned how to make endurance and hard work our guiding values. In fact, the various trials we went through strengthened our bonds, something that would last long after we leave the V. But among all these, the most important thing the V has taught me is to be strong enough to fight for the truth. No matter how difficult or painful the battle may be, only the truth will free us from the shackles of lies. Indeed, this small space on the op-ed page would not be enough to chronicle everything the V has done for me. Nevertheless, I will always remain thankful.
To all the V people whom I have worked with for the past three years, thank you for being selfless enough to share with me a part of your life and for being a part of mine.
***
I guess what makes farewells difficult is the fear that, once I walk out that door, I may never go back. What makes it painful is leaving behind my loved ones, my friends, and letting them go.
Goodbye.
