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Saying Good-bye

I can truly say I have mixed emotions about leaving. Im happy I’m returning to Philly to see my friends and family´, but I also don’t want to leave the home and family I have here. I’m scared of how people will look at me when I leave, because I know how I am. I get really emotional and I know I’m going to cry. I’m afraid my family won’t even care I’m leaving. I feel like we’re close´, but I wonder sometimes if I’m close enough with them that they will feel sad when I leave. I knew I would have to leave and feel all these emotions, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard because I didn’t think I would get as close to them as I did.

I think about who I want to say goodbye to, so many names come to mind. But until now I was thinking I’ll just let my family plan something for me. I had this mindset because I had this fear of facing the reality saying goodbye to me isn’t as important to them as it is for me. When I think of saying good-bye, I can feel little tears fighting to get free. But I get rid of those tears really quick by thinking about the time I still have left to take advantage of.

If I could put someone in my pocket and take them home, it would be my cousin Jonah . He’s a two-year-old boy who has made such an impact on me. If someone told me that the person who I would grow closest to only was two, I would have had a really hard time stopping myself from laughing. But even though it might seem unlikely,  Jonah is a big reason why sometimes when I was so close to having a breakdown I didn’t. There are times when I was really sad and unsure of myself, but I would see Jonah and he would smile, make me laugh, and everything was ok again. Without even trying and knowing what he’s doing, he makes a big impact on me.

Kimberly Reed-Hyman

About Kimberly Reed-Hyman


Kimberly is most proud of receiving buildOn's Global Citizen Impact award for her region. She is passionate about making sure children all have an equal opportunity to get the education they deserve, and she even spent two weeks in Malawi, Africa, helping to build the foundation for a school.

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