Have a Nice Life

Today, in the almost last class I will ever have in the MA program, I walked out with a fellow classmate. Upon reaching the entry way he said, "Well, we'll probably never see each other again. Have a nice life....seriously." And that got me to thinking. Isn't it strange how we affect each other, remember each other, share such important parts of our lives with each other only to one day say, "have a nice life"? Then I began considering how many many many people fit into this category of life. Certainly the vast amounts of named individuals that will somehow disappear into the back corners of my mind have influenced me. They shared papers, thoughts, commiserated over lengthy assignments, terrible students, unfair administrators and the like. I know where they work, who their favorite authors are, their frustrations and strengths. I was there when they went through break ups or break downs, rainy and sunny days. They saw me through a semester of pumping, organizing every minute of my time to somehow make it through this program, panicking over my comps, walking on cloud nine when my comps were through, busting out papers, just busting papers. And now, I will say goodbye to professors and students, fellow classmates and co-workers, and I can't help but think about how important they have been to me, and will continue to be. I have learned so very much from all of them, and while I will not forget their names, I might, at times, forget that they exist. Eventually, they will be tucked away neatly somewhere in my long term memory because my short term memory will be too full of the new individuals that collectively make up the group of people I will someday tell to have a nice life. It's fascinating really, when you think about how important this vast group of insignificant people are. (Insignificant as in not the most prevalent figures in your life, not as in not significant) So thank goodness for Face book, blogs, and cyberspace helping to comfort me in this moment of sadness. Due to technological innovations my "have a nice life" can quickly turn into make sure you friend me on fb. I guess my point is, there are so many remarkable things in life and EVERYONE influences everyone else... it's pretty cool!