A Bittersweet Farewell

Mine and Pete’s best friends, Jenn and Lee, have moved to Ottawa. This is both awesome, and not awesome at the same time.

Pete has known Lee for about two decades now – which I think is incredible. I don’t know many people who have kept friendships for that long. They went to elementary school and high school together. I’ve known Lee now for about 8-ish years, and we’ve both known Jenn for five years. Pete and I have probably hung out with Jenn and Lee at an average of once per week for the past couple of years, and we are really going to miss them! We already do!

I didn’t want to get too sentimental about it, because it really is an awesome opportunity for Jenn, who has gotten an excellent job, and for Lee, who is defending his master’s thesis in September. I’m super excited for them and this new chapter in their lives, and my only hopes are that we all stay such great friends, keep in touch, and hopefully eventually end up living in the same city again (maybe even somewhere awesome like Vancouver!).

Anyhow, Lee and Jenn are awesome and we love them. That is all. Oh look! Photos!

Want more awesome pictures of the going away party? Check them out here!

Moving On

It’s actually pretty remarkable. I was with the Students’ Association since September of 2008 and full-time as an Executive since May 2009. And now I’m moving on. What can I say? I don’t know if I can even capture in this post the immense scale of which this experience has affected and influenced me.

I have to smile to myself. It’s been a ride. Mostly good, every once in a while crazy, and sometimes not so good. But that’s okay. This experience has been incredible. While in Jasper a few nights ago I drove with two close co-workers (and friends) of mine to a clearing late at night. North of the mountains the sky seemed like it was trying not to fade to night. Above us the sky was clear and filled with sparkling jewels. We stopped the truck, turned it off, and listened to Florence and the Machine while we stood and enjoyed the scenery, the cool air, and the enormity of the mountains. Directly in front of us was a small lake with mountains glaring down at it. A hum of frogs sang along to Florence in the background. Or perhaps Florence sang in the background of the frogs’ song. I won’t lie, some tears fell quietly down my cheeks. They were both sad and happy tears. One drop was regret. One was relief. One was most definitely amusement. How do I tell the drops apart? I don’t. Most of my tears have fallen already that there are very few left. I felt ready to leave the SA. And now I’m gone.

I learned many things as an Executive, but I cannot possibly list them all here or you would become terribly bored. There are, however, three things that will always stick with me:

1. Always asking the question “What really matters or What matters most?

2. Remembering that we all want to be heard, understood, and acknowledged, so once in a while stop talking and just LISTEN to what others around you have to say. Really, truly, honestly LISTEN. Ask questions. Involve yourself in the other person’s story.

3. We are all human. We must give each other permission to be human, acknowledge that we are human, and allow ourselves to make mistakes. Once you give yourself permission to make mistakes, you can recognize those mistakes and be okay with those mistakes. The important part is being able to stand up and ADMIT you made a mistake and move on.

As our favourite childhood author, Dr. Seuss, once wrote, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Cheers,

Tess