I’ve been putting this off for a while now, I felt like if I had actually gone ahead and wrote it, then it would truly be over. But, I can only escape from reality for so long, and while I am just 700 kilometers outside of Beijing on this dreaded 11 hour flight, I realized that it’s about time I write this.

Play this song.

To quote the all famous Frodo: “it’s over, it’s finally over”.

Five years of undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo, I can’t believe that I have actually graduated, although strangely, I never doubted it.

The last term, most recent, was potentially the most difficult term of all, considering the mental blocks I had to push through, as well as the difficulty of the AI course. I was spending almost 50 hours a week on assignments alone in the first half of the term, and the latter half I had to start looking for jobs. One of the onsite interviews actually led to me missing a geography quiz, hence the terrible mark.

But everything is now finally finished, and I’m not sure I’ve actually come to terms with it yet. I decided to go to Amazon for full-time over AdRoll because I wanted to train myself a bit more before trying my hand at the startup scene again. The interviews I had done – about 20 in a month time – had taught me exactly one thing: I’m still too inexperienced. My manager was very disappointed that I had chosen this path, but I truly believe that it is the right one. Anyways, only time will tell.

Before I left waterloo, I managed to say good bye to just about everyone. I might have missed a couple here and there, due to the weather at the end of my stay. The persistent rain and destroyed my sump pump, and I had to go buy a replacement and install it as a result.

First, I had to say goodbye to the Frantastic Four. This was our little designation for the group comprising of Boris, Michael. Shirley and me. Although I’m cautiously optimistic with these guys, because chances are I will end up in San Francisco again, and we’ll go on to do more frantastic things.

I’m really sorry to Max, because I had promised him that I’d look for a job in San Francisco; while he ended up at Yelp, I’m going to be in either Seattle or Vancouver. Max was this amazing person I met during my AdRoll days. I can’t really describe him very well, but he loves cookies, uses javascript in coding challenges and calls Microsoft support when he has issues with his laptop despite being a Software Engineer graduate. Max, if you’re reading this, we make fun of you because we love you, and everything we joke about is an endearment. I genuinely think you will be very successful at Yelp, which is why I coaxed you into accepting it. I’ll find my way to San Francisco again, don’t you worry. Once I do, we can room together and I’ll bake cakes anytime you want (I like baking but I don’t like sweets, Max loves sweets but doesn’t like cooking.).

I still can’t believe I actually had to part ways with Dennis, he’s been my roommate and one of my best friends for almost 3 years now. But as he heads off to San Francisco for his internship, I must embark on my journey to the upper west coast, which is where I will be working. I’ve dreaded this day for a long time, and I still see things and think to myself, “hey, Dennis will find this interesting.” Whenever he was home, I’d almost always pop into his room and just lie on his bed a bit while listening to him rambling to himself or his friend while playing videogames. Occasionally I’ll talk to him about more serious stuff, and ask him whether if I’m being a douche. It’s hard to keep true sometimes, and talking to him, asking him about myself was my way of calibrating my moral compass to ensure I never veered off.

Chandan was another person that I really hated to say goodbye to. He is my mentor, in a great many things, not just photography. He represented a way of life that I wanted, and I hope I can achieve his level of competence and confidence someday. Along with Chandan I also had to part ways with Daaksh, who was always supportive during any and every situation. I’ve almost always consulted her on relationship issues, and she’s always given me impartial advice, opening myself to perspectives that I would otherwise miss completely. She always hugged me every time I saw her, and I have to admit, somedays it was exactly what I needed. Chandan and Daaksh are almost like second parents to me, they even came over and cooked food once, while I was still busy hacking away at my assignment. It’s going to be difficult, but I will definitely try to visit them whenever I can in the future, and I hope Chandan eventually decides on what he wants to do with life, because he is likely one of the brightest people I’ve ever known.

I made a trip to Toronto to say goodbye to two people: my “senior sister”, Tianyang, who had been a good friend of mine since the high school days; and Lexi, whom now that I think about it, is the first time I’ve ever mentioned her on my blog. I’m really glad to see Tianyang living happily in Toronto with her boyfriend, and their very, very cute cat, and I wish them all the best in the future. Lexi and I had been friends since 2^nd year when she started attending photography club meetings while completing her masters of engineering at the university. We clicked almost right away since we had very similar interests and values, namely beer, brandy and whiskey, ha. I’m not too worried about us, however, as she had been in Toronto for almost 2 years now, and we still keep in contact from time to time. Sometimes she’ll call me to talk, and sometimes I’ll call her to chat. I’m sure our friendship will survive this, and I wish her all the best as well.

One of the most surprising things about this term is that I had managed to reconcile my friendship with Errin. She was, and still is a very special person for me, and being able to participate in her life again fills me with a lot of joy. Although this time, I think she had helped me more than I had helped her, ever. Late night chats are almost a tradition between us at this point, and I have full confidence that I’ll be able to see her again in the future, whether it be her visiting, or me returning. As she puts it “To part ways isn’t necessarily goodbye, it’s to make us better when we reunite in the future’.

I managed to see Paige before I left, too, but she was jetlagged the whole time, and she didn’t seem as lively as she used to be. I hope she gets better soon. On the other hand, hanging out with her and Sichen was great fun, and I wish we can do it again in the future.

I also had a chance to grab food with Alice and Joseph together, these two are just too cute to miss. I’ll see you guys at convocation, and I’ll probably see you more in the future given the circumstances.

There are so much more I want to say to all of you people who have been a part of my university life. Without you guys, I would not be who I am today. Thank you so much for all the support you had given me over the years, and I hope to have your continued support; I know I will be supporting all of you through thick and thin. For everyone, don’t worry, we will surely meet again in the future.

In the end I didn’t meet Anna. I had wanted to, but I didn’t, and I don’t know why.

My plane is going to be landing soon, and you can expect more posts from me over the next month as I will be travelling in Beijing and Xi’an.

Cheers,

-Tao