When I hear the words “nothing lasts forever,” I think cliché. We’ve heard those words repeated so many times, but it’s a simple truth. “Nothing lasts forever,” so enjoy the moment while you can.
I came to VIU in 2015 for the creative writing program. I hadn’t been to Nanaimo except for a campus tour earlier in the year, and I had no idea what things would be like. I would write stories, songs, and assignments in my dorm. My bike was my main mode of transportation. The dorm bike shed was always over capacity. Someone put a moped in there once. I hated it, but I loved to explore the city on my bike. I’d skip out on the grocery shuttle and bike to Quality Foods. I made bi-weekly visits to my chiropractor on Franklyn St. I took that bike everywhere.
I’m graduating from the creative writing program this semester. Nanaimo has been my home for four years. I’ve spent three of them writing for The Navigator. I moved out of dorms into a house off-campus. Since then I’ve lived with 13 different roommates, each one of them great people. I started off biking 20 minutes to school, until I fell off my bike, broke my wrist, and bought a car. After that our driveway was always full; we still play musical cars in the morning some days. My chiropractor relocated by Country Club Mall, but my back doesn’t hurt me as much as it used to, so I see him monthly now.
I know that things change; since I know that, the bad times should be more tolerable, and the good times should be sweeter, right? In theory. I’m still going to be sad to leave VIU, nervous to graduate, and stressed about my future. I can choose to hold onto those feelings. They’re normal and show that I actually care about my life. But, if I let them consume me, I won’t be ready for changes yet to come.
I don’t get to choose the changes that occur. I do get to choose how I react, what I hold on to, and how I move forward. All I need to do is remember the simple truth, “nothing lasts forever.”
