Round One: Monday

Goodbye, Monday morning 8am students: Automation majors,

You made me so mad fall semester. I even had to tell on you to your homeroom teacher, which caused me much embarrassment because so many of you were late so often. But then, you turned it around this semester and everyone was early every week...at 8am on a Monday. I'm sorry I was so hard on you, thank you for still being kind to me. You listened to discipline, and changed for the better and I was very proud of you for that. We had a lot of fun considering the exhaustion we were all apparently under at that awful early morning time. Individually, you are amazing people, but as a class, you have a strange countenance. I love you all the more for it.

Goodbye, Monday morning 10am students: Politics and Management majors,

You are brilliant. This is my class with the most girls in it so I look forward to the amount of chit-chatting we do every week before and after class. When we took our picture to say goodbye, you just wouldn't leave. I tried to cut the cord to make a swift and painless getaway, but you weren't having it. So we sat by the lake for an hour, just talking. I like that you can do that - express yourselves freely. You are dreamers and political thinkers. I think you have the most potential of all my classes. I expect to see you in China's news one day under a banner of change. This class has everything a teacher wants; personality, self-motivation, and respect. If everyone could interact with this class, everyone would want to be a teacher.

Goodbye, Monday afternoon 1:35pm students: Computer Engineering majors,

I'm not sure if you ever understand what I am saying to you. But your sense of humor with each other made me want to press on to get you to understand, rather than give up and render your english skills hopeless. I want to squeeze your cheeks and make baby sounds when I see you, which would be entirely inappropriate since you are a class of mostly men older than me. I will miss the "waaaaaaa!" your class called out every time I entered the room, which made me really uncomfortable and self-conscious, but I also secretly liked. You are collectively the hippest of my classes, always stylish and cocky, never timid to approach me. You are the "cool-dudes and chicks" of the graduate department and you know it, you just don't know that I know it, too. Haha, tricked ya. I hope you get your dream jobs at Microsoft or Apple or Boeing...even though your english skills are minute, you never gave up and showed me that you excel in other areas. I applaud you, I love you, I'll miss you the most.

Well, day 1 of goodbye's is over. This is no fun, but tons of fun at the same time. I'll show you all my gifts at the end of the week - got some good stuff!

Hope you are loving those around you! I'm reminded yet again of the thousands of people we come into contact in our lives - how even a short time with people can make an eternal and significant difference. These monkies have definitely impacted me, I just hope it's two-sided. :)

Walk slow. xoxo.