"Goodbye"

I hate that phrase. The majority of situations in which I was required to repeat that phrase have never been pleasant nor "good." Today I had to say goodbye to my friend, Joey. He leaves tomorrow to live and work in L.A. with hopes of breaking into the entertainment industry as an actor.

He's off to persue his life's adventure and I couldn't be happier for him. As much as I'll miss my friend, I'd be more depressed if he never chased his dream and stayed here instead. It's amazing to think that at our ages we were able to stay together as cohesive group of friends for so long. Of course the term "friend" doesn't quite cut it when needing to describe what we all are to each other. Joey, Nick, Brian, Brandon, John, Ryan, Ed, Josh h., Josh c. and even myself... we're all family. One giant family.

When I graduated from college and came back home, I became reacquainted with this family. Being with this family became my life for over a year and half. Being with this family took precedence over everything else. I love my family and truth be told, I'd be willing to die for any one of the people I listed above.

Having a father who was a navy reservist required me to move around a lot when I was younger. Up until the age of fifteen I was used to moving around every 2 years to a new town, new school, and a new set of friends. It wasn't until I moved here did I get the chance to know a group of people for almost a decade. Saying goodbye to friends used to be easy for me. "See you in the future," I would say as I hopped in a car and left for another state. Saying goodbye now, like I had to earlier today, just breaks my heart.

So instead of saying goodbye, I think I'll follow the customs of the Eternians from the live action movie of "Masters of the Universe." (The MPAA has rated this feature D for Dolph. Meaning this feature contains the actor Dolph Lundgren and should not be viewed by anyone at any age.) In that movie, He-Man and his faithful companions explain that in Eternia no one says "goodbye." Instead they say "good journey."

Have a good journey, Joey. Be the best actor you can be.