It’s difficult to imagine that, after four years of writing for The Devil’s Advocate, this is my goodbye. It’s a strange feeling, where there’s so much room for closure; yet I don’t feel ready to leave.

For many of us, these next few months are just that. We are leaving the small town of Basking Ridge for the big wide world, and, at least for now, we are going to enjoy our time together. That doesn’t mean that goodbye is not going to be hard come graduation.

In this time of transition, I remember the lyrics from the song “One Last Time” from Hamilton. Hamilton, the musical currently taking the world by storm, tells the story of the rise and fall of the first Secretary of the Treasury, founding father Alexander Hamilton. The first act depicts his role in the Revolutionary War and its immediate aftermath. This aftermath shapes the course of Act II, where the song comes from; the show’s plot details America’s tumultuous start, ultimately culminating in Hamilton’s fatal duel with Aaron Burr.

In the song, George Washington explains to Alexander Hamilton that he is stepping down from the presidency to spend time at home in Mount Vernon. While the circumstances couldn’t be any more different from graduation, its overall theme of passing the torch rings true. Washington sings, “One last time/Let’s take a break tonight/And then we’ll teach them how to say goodbye.”

Further along in the song, Washington explains, “If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on/It outlives me when I’m gone.” Maybe the best way to sum up the end of senior year is that everyone “learns to move on.” Our families learn to move on. Even we do. We learn how to say goodbye, and we get an amazing chance to start over and become someone new. We pass the torch to younger siblings and relatives, and they get the chance to grow at home before they follow in our footsteps.

Who are we teaching “how to say goodbye” to?

We’re saying goodbye to everyone at Ridge. We’re saying goodbye to our parents, our friends, our siblings. We all learn from each other; it’s a fact of life. We pass on a message when we leave, one that is woven ever so slightly into the song.

It’s a message of saying life will still go on, even if our families and friends don’t see us every day. The lives we’ve touched by going to the same school would be completely different if none of us had ever crossed paths. I know this better than anyone.

I moved here in the middle of middle school, completely uprooted from a life I loved in the Midwest. Six years later, it’s difficult to imagine who I would be if I had never moved here: the people I would never meet; the friends I’d never have; the things that would be meaningless to me if I had never seen, heard, or experienced them. My life was changed completely from where I thought it would go, and I don’t regret that. I don’t have to. I’m a better person because of my experiences here, and for that I couldn’t be more excited to be graduating with our group of students.

So, for “one last time,” I get to write about something meaningful to me and to all of you. While not all of you are seniors, I’m sure you have friends, family, or maybe even someone in your class who is. The seniors will “teach you how to say goodbye.” Soon enough, you’ll be able to do it all on your own, whether it be next year, the year after that, or even after that.

We get an opportunity where we get to share this joyful milestone together before it’s “goodbye Ridge, hello college.” I just want to take a moment, before we go, to say it’s been really fun getting to know all of you. I’m so grateful to be a Red Devil (even though our colors are green and black, which still boggles my mind), and I will carry that with me always.

If you’re interested, you can check out the song here: https://youtu.be/YRHOcskOudg