misattributed to Mark Twain: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/09/29/you-did/
Endings are never easy. I always build them up so much in my head, they can't possibly live up to my expectations, and I just end up disappointed. I'm not even sure why it matters to me so much how things end here. I guess it's because we all want to believe that what we do is very important, that people hang on to our every word, that they care what we think. The truth is, you should consider yourself lucky if you even occasionally get to make someone, anyone, feel a little better. After that, it's all about the people that you let into your life, and as my mind drifted to faces I've seen here before, I was taken to memories of family... Of coworkers... Of lost loves... Even of those who've left us. And as I rounded that corner, they all came at me in a wave of shared experience. And even though it felt warm and safe, I knew it had to end. It's never good to live in the past too long. As for the future, thanks to Dan, it didn't seem so scary anymore. It could be whatever I want it to be. And who's to say this isn't what happens? Who can tell me that my fantasies won't come true, just this once?
Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe, you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
My mama always said, "You got to put the past behind you before you can move on."