As the end of the year approaches, goodbyes loom on the horizon. Several questions for the Class of 2026 and everyone leaving Masters are freshly on my mind: “Why are you so excited for graduation? Won’t you be sad about leaving the place you relied on for years? Won’t you be scared that you will never see some people again?”
For some international students, these are not only the last few days as high schoolers, but also the last few days living in the United States.
Senior Kseniia Lukianenko from Kyiv, Ukraine, will be attending IE University in Madrid, Spain. Soon to be settling down across the Atlantic Ocean, she answered my questions with grace.
Lukianenko said, “Even if I’m going to Europe, I am still going to keep in touch with people here. We’re still going to somehow meet, probably in another city. It’s just gonna be fine, you know? We’re gonna meet somehow. I believe in positivity.”
Обійми на прощання, which translates to “goodbye hug,” is a Ukrainian phrase that first comes to Lukianenko’s mind when the concept of goodbye is mentioned. Lukianenko’s friends and family in Ukraine woke up at 5 a.m. to give her a oбійми на прощання at the train station. It shows close connection, not just a quick hug of “bye bye.”
Lukianenko hopes to experience oбійми на прощання in her last week at Masters. She said, “Keep the tradition of saying this sweet goodbye instead of crying over saying goodbye. Just hugging and cheering the mutual feelings. Like, ‘I’m happy that we’re moving on and I’m happy that you’re going on with your life.’”
The etymology of goodbye is “God be with ye,” a warm blessing. However, the English language lacks this emotional expression — one that is apparent in “auf Wiedersehen,” a German term meaning “until seeing you again.”
Emilia Friebe ’27, who is going back to Cologne, Germany, after spending a year at Masters, said, “It’s a common goodbye in Germany, but here I feel like it’s actually going to apply in a way. I’m actually going to see you again, or I hope I do.”
Similarly, in Chinese, the common goodbye is zai jian. The two Chinese characters literally mean “again” and “meet.” Every time we part ways and turn in different directions, we are promising, or at least hoping, to see each other again.
As Lukianenko said, “I feel sad, but at the same time I feel like it’s going to be a new chapter for me.” Goodbye is not only a separation and departure, but also the grand closing of high school and an optimistic promise for the future.
