For four short years, students have created close relationships and made Dreyfoos their home. As graduation day is just around the corner, the reality of some inevitable goodbyes are settling in, and the truth has been revealed: goodbyes are never easy.

“I think the hardest part about saying goodbye is knowing that I’m not going to see the people who I’ve gone through all the highs and lows of high school with,” dance senior Olivia Izenwasser said.

So, what can make the heart wrenching separation a little easier to cope with? No one knows. The act of saying goodbye to someone you care for deeply will never be easy. There are no words of encouragement in the world that can make dealing with that any less painful. But there are various coping strategies. Theatre senior Max Prissert has experienced difficult goodbyes in the past, so he is no stranger to dealing with the pain that can accompany it.

“[You just have to] make it clear to your friends that you’re only a phone call away, even if you haven’t talked for months,” Prissert said. “My best friends are the ones that I don’t have to text every day to keep in touch. They’re the ones that I can call out of the blue and talk [with] like no time has passed.”

Looking on the bright side of a goodbye is extremely hard, but it can be beneficial with a circumstance like graduating high school. You want to keep a positive spirit, graduating isn’t supposed to be the end of a journey, but the beginning of a new one.

“[It helps] just knowing that we’re all going to our dream schools to do bigger and better things in college,” Izenwasser said.

On the contrary, maybe this season of goodbyes isn’t a problem for you at all. You don’t have to make it a time of sadness, it can be exciting too.

“I’m not too worried about it,” communications senior Carla Flores said. “I feel prepared. I’ll be in constant contact with all my family and friends, and if I ever get too homesick I’m just one bus ticket away.”

The best advice to help seniors with their inevitable goodbyes: don’t avoid it. It’s going to happen and it’s sooner than you think. Embrace it. These goodbyes are the start of a new chapter in your life.

“Anticipate it,” Prissert said. “There’s no way to avoid it. But, it’s nothing to be sad about until it actually happens.”