This past fall, I taught a college course for the first time—a writing class in Centennial’s publishing program. It was a fairly big step out of my warm and cozy comfort zone that I sometimes prefer to stay safely curled up in. But only sometimes. Because yeah, I am also known for throwing back that comfort blanket and running off to find something shiny and new. Change! Risk! Adventure!
Does running off like this always pay off? No. Of course not. But it often does.
And in this case, it did! Phew. Teaching this writing class was a fun, challenging, and humbling experience. I learned a lot. Mostly about myself (don’t worry, I won’t bore you with those personal breakthroughs). But I also got to learn a lot of interesting stuff from my group of smart and creative students. They all came from different backgrounds with unique stories to share.
And on the last day of class, I learned something really lovely that I now want to share with all of you.
Did you know that there is no word for “goodbye” in most, if not all, Indigenous languages? One of my very awesome students (hi, Stephanie!), who shared this with me, said there is no simple way to say “goodbye” because there is simply no use for it. In most Indigenous cultures, people believe that you will always see each other later—whether it’s in the here and now tomorrow or somewhere else entirely in the far-off distance.
Isn’t that beautiful?
I may have thrown back my cozy comfort blanket in September, but then I got to wrap myself up in a new one yesterday. No such thing as goodbye? Well, don’t mind me. I’m just going to cuddle up in this sweetness for a little while before I move on to the next shiny new thing.
But no matter where I go or what I do… I’ll see ya later, right?