For all you “One Tree Hill” fans out there I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase “people always leave.”
Spoken by the angsty Peyton Sawyer, it’s the most memorable line from the early 2000s hit drama series aside from “there’s only one Tree Hill.”
Peyton Sawyer is one of those characters that almost everyone can relate to.
Well, aside from the fact that she’s a punk-rocker, yet also a cheerleader, who happens to be part of a screwed-up love triangle with her best friend and she likes to run through red lights for fun, I’d consider her relateable.
Peyton is a character who faces a lot of messed up stuff and makes her fair share of mistakes, but always fights back and puts up a strong front.
Practically everyone in her life leaves her alone at some point, thus the angry motive behind the whole “people always leave” thing.
I never really understood the dramatic phrase and didn’t really buy into Peyton’s character because it seemed over dramatic, even for a series on the CW.
Maybe this is why I never particularly cared for or understood Peyton’s character because frankly, I haven’t had much experience with people leaving.
I’ve never had to deal with a family member or loved one moving far away, I’ve only attended one funeral in my lifetime and I’ve never had a relationship that’s fallen apart.
I’m fortunate in every aspect of my life to have people who care about me and want to be in my life and I’ve really never had to deal with any circumstances that would have prevented me from seeing someone significant to me.
This is something I certainly do not take for granted and as my sophomore year at Gannon nears an end, I’m afraid that saying goodbye is something I’m going to have to face in the near future.
People always talk about how different college is from high school because of all the changes in freedom, academics and responsibility, but no one really talks about the differences when it comes to parting ways.
Yes, they talk about how your friends in college will be your “forever friends,” but no one says how much it absolutely sucks when your forever friends move on with their lives.
High school is different because you’ll always have your hometown in common.
You’ll always drive past your classmate’s childhood home on your way to Dollar General, or you’ll always get together with your lunch table group the night before Thanksgiving.
When it comes to college, who knows when you’ll see your friends again. Everyone graduates and moves on, starting lives and actually being adults.
Although I still have one more year before I have to deal with moving on myself, it’s hard to watch some of my other friends transition up and out of Gannon into the real world.
I envision the Knight office will be filled with far less laughter and far fewer memes next year without our two seniors, but I’m grateful for the fun and puns we’ve had.
Although we will no longer share Tuesday evenings and early Wednesday mornings, I’m hopeful our friendships won’t have started and ended in this office.
Even Peyton Sawyer had a positive side when she said, “people always leave, but sometimes they come back.”
And if not, there’s always the iMessage meme chat. Meme Channel forever.
OLIVIA BURGER
