Good Byes

Life is full of hard ships and partner ships, but the best part about life is that it consists of ships that never sink- Friendships.
In my nine years of being in a boarding school, i had never ever imagined that nine years pass as though they never started and i still stand at the same gate, wearing the same uniform, this time leaving, for never coming back as a student.
These are momentary phases that we all go through where we feel that "Wow! my life has completely changed!" but in a few days time, a new phase sets in and we hit reality, fresh beginnings and new friendships. But, besides all these circumstances, what we learn is what we keep forever as nothing is constant. All just gets stored as memories in our unconscious. The good, the bad and the ugly- i have seen all these in all my nine years, and all of it has been a lesson in someway or the other.
From waking up at 5:30am and going (forcibly) for P.T which was always the most hated feature of our daily chores to summing up the day in chanting prayers with all our house mates before retiring to bed, there was a lot to learn. From waiting for the fruit break bell to ring at 11:45 am to canteen time at 3:15pm with our 3 coupons i.e, Rs 30/- and a huge rack of stuff to chose from, there was a lot to learn. From eating the yummiest lunch of matar kulcha on a Tuesday (which was 'Silent Lunch', we didn't know why?) to assembling in the house courtyard with the entire house staff to listen to our senior prefects make announcements, there was a lot to learn.
As I grew older and starting finding my own way in school, the learning became more productive. From struggling to make our house win the 'best house' to not letting any house marks get cut (for small things like, coming late for assembly), there was a lot to learn. From entering the mess before the bell rings to leaving as soon as it rings, there was a lot to learn (how not to over-eat, there was a lot to learn.
Whether it be a small lecture from a teacher or the competitiveness derived from each challenge, there was and always will be a lot to learn.
All this kept changing. As we escalated from being a tiny 4th standard girl to an all round personality, and graduated but the only thing that remained constant were the ones that kept afloat- Friendships.
Through all those line-ups, canteens, fruit-breaks,  lunches, and of course, retiring to bed, there were a bunch of friends always waiting to be fun.
As people change, their likes and dislikes keep evolving. And in a girls' school, its inevitable. So everyone constantly changed their friend circles when they all finally settled for nothing less than their best friends in class 9. That is the time around which most girls discover their most loved ones. So, as most of the girls around, I,too figured out mine in class 9 and we all gradually moved into our own spaces and got engrossed in our own little world that we lost touch with the rest. But then, there comes a time when other things seem more important like Inter School competitions and our own streams of subjects that we start losing touch with everyone and get imbibed by our own space, only one individual's space.
The simple fact we busy people forget is that those who are not busy, are still there where you left them for fulfilling our needs and wants, neglecting theirs but when we realize, that they were permanent, we acknowledge their constant support which for me was extraordinary.I agree that I wasn't always the best friend around and that people had forgotten the real me as they didn't quite see my face very often but the fact that in my last 3 months of schooling, they were there. That's what makes the difference. The last impressions.
So after all the hardships, all the partnerships and all the friendships, Cheers to all who stood by.
Fare you well!