I don’t enjoy solitude. I prefer people around me. I enjoy talking to people. I am more of an extrovert. There is this Japanese term called “kenzoku” which means “Family”. It’s a bond between people who share same destiny and have made a similar vow in their lives. Many of us have people in our lives with whom we experience the bond described by the word kenzoku. They may be family members, a mother, a brother, a daughter, a cousin, a father, a sister or a friend. I always consider being with the people we love as happiness. We cherish the moments spent with our friends, family and loved ones. But the sad part is that we have to depart from each other unwillingly. I think that people come into our life for a reason and spend the time they’re meant to spend. If someone is no longer in our life, it’s because they’re no longer supposed to be there. When we spend our life with the one person we cherish the most, we enjoy our life to the fullest. But the pain when that person leaves our life is way too much than those happy moments. I never appreciate sudden departure. I don’t understand how people can feel the same without the person they have been with for so long. How can people tolerate the feeling of losing important people in their life? I know it is possible to get over it one day, but our life alters forever after we lose someone we cherish. No matter we come to terms with this kind of departure, but the memories always remain there. We will always be able to stop the pain and let new people enter into our lives and even start enjoying it with them. But the sad part is that the gap with our departed loved ones never fills. No one is able to replace their place. Taking our time and bidding a heart-warming goodbye can be a good way to decrease our grief. It expunges the regret of not being able to express a loving farewell with words of encouragement and thankfulness to them for being a part of our life and what they have meant to us. It is a blessing to have time to say goodbye, rather than have someone taken all of a sudden. But to me I hate goodbyes. I have trouble giving up on people. I don’t like the feeling of losing someone whether we bid them farewell or not. Why can’t death disappear and goodbyes end? But it’s not possible. Death is inevitable. Separation is the part of our life. So we should always be able to leave all of our loved ones, with words of love, every time you separate from each other because tomorrow is never guaranteed. So love everyone. Spend some time with others and enjoy being with them rather than alone. Be courageous enough to face goodbyes because departure is certain. Dedicated to Rubeena Di. We will miss you! (Rubeena Gurung was working as an assistant administrative manager at DWIT but has now left the college.)