IT’S NOT

GOOD
BYE
IT’S SEE
YOU
LATER
THEWORDSINEVERSAID
VOLUME 3
 .
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ER
T H
The ex who’s
moved on:
She was in May
Get me out.
Old polaroids, and I’m reminiscing on the
burnt home I left,
Fuel tanks loaded and my old shoes:
dead and eroded.
Every moment I look back, I take a step
back from my progressive endeavors,
I try and I try to get over it,
By day, I am complete and functional; the
setting of the sun breaks me down,
Remember us?
Remember your imperfect smile
Remember mine, remember looking into
my eyes and feeling my breath
feeling my heat echoing off yours?
Remember fading off, our surroundings
diluted into the setting of your eyes,
Green and with glory, you entrenched
every last emotion deep into my soul
Your delicate waist and long running legs,
your soft upper lip canvased on your
perfect little head
It would be naive to say you completed
me, but you brought me close.
Day after day, I woke up to smell your
aroma and held it close to me
to want to let it linger through my mind
and captured it for the
moments spent away
My rough hands lined with mounds cov-
ered by the imperfections
of your soft, fragile hands
Creeping into, but never asking,
never needing to
Just holding and cherishing
the glee of you in my arms
I was never muscular
yet you couldn’t care less.
Your long blond locks around me,
you couldn’t leave a mess.
That crook in your teeth,
and the color skipped a value or two
but you — yes you — were all I wanted,
all I needed, all I had
That picture, that one picture,
04
looking down at you, you are a
marvel:
the way you’d pop your hip,
the smile that you wore —
priceless in my mind.
You were the gift I simply
accepted.
Looking down at you, you are
a marvel. but what
have I done to
Your porcelain shoulders I could earn it?
lean on, your beautiful soft skin, The good get the best,
The way you’d run your fingers through and the vermin salvage
my hair and linger upon every last curl scraps.
You have the heart of a lion,
Hold my hand, pretty woman, woman, you deserve the best,
I’ll take the back if you want. and I’m far from it.
You can take the front and guide us
to wherever you want to run. A moment with you will be
Just hold my hand, and like a million with her.
please don’t let go. It will never be the same.
The sweat is my emotion, First love, I will cherish the polaroids
my sweaty palms express you posted in my soul.
all the emotion I need to show. The sunlight will bleed through the win-
dows and eventually rot them to pieces,
The crisp autumn leaves but for you, I’ll shut out the sun so that
crunching as we pass,
the days when it all was
as simple as the sky
I can remember,
when we were two kids in love, two kids
who wanted to pass the days together.
remember,
Together no more!
We are not, I am not
remember
us.
yet you are ... you are happy,
And for you, my lover of past, I am happy
I am happy that another man can feel
what I have felt.
I want nothing more than to tear him to
pieces and scavenge
what’s left of that emotion
for he doesn’t deserve it,
 05
“So yes, everyday I still think of you.
We’ll never be friends like we were.
I still kinda like you,
but I’ll eventually forget.
Hopefully.”
To
another boy:
Before I say goodbye for good, I want
to say that I’ve enjoyed every moment I spent with you over the past
few weeks (at least the times we spent together in person). Ever since I
first met you, I’ve liked you. I loved the way you made me laugh, the crazy
accents you always did, how you always tried to talk to me even though I
didn’t give you much reason to want to. Despite all those reasons to want to be
close to you, I kept my distance.

You’ve asked me so many times why I kept that distance, and I never told you the real
reason. Well, liking you scared the shit out of me. You were crazy, outgoing, funny and
open, and so was your ex-girlfriend. I thought to myself: Why would he like me? I’m
nothing like her. So I always smiled and laughed at your jokes but nothing more. In
the time between since we stopped working together and when we started talking,
I didn’t think about you much. There was the occasional dream or contemplation of
what could’ve happened if we’d dated, but I always figured it would never happen
and was better off not happening anyway. Then, out of the blue, you come along and
start dishing out beautiful nonsense about having a crush on me and wanting to hang out and
wanting something more than friendship. The smart part of me said that I’d seen this before, and to keep my
heart out of it; the dumb part said that I needed to know what would happen if we tried to date. So, I fell for
your tricks; I went against what everything my logical mind told me and started hanging out with you. You
really had me going with the sweet song lyrics, how you got a web cam just so we could talk every night,
and how you always were the first one to say good morning ...

But, of course, that all changed when you decided to come visit. I felt amazing while I was with you. I got
that butterfly feeling every time we kissed, and I felt comfortable every time we talked or every time we
didn’t. When you left, I could tell something was off; you weren’t as talkative, and you didn’t act as happy
as usual. I immediately — and rightly — assumed you were changing your mind. I felt horrible about it; you
were doing the exact same thing that last guy I truly liked did: getting what you wanted and then walking
right back out of my life. Of course, you enforced my assumption when you barely texted me at all the next
t u d e n ts
couple of days. So, naturally, I accepted defeat and told myself you’d changed your mind, and

e a c h e rs, s ted
t
it was over.
t h e d o u b
To s w ho
n t on:
But wait, when I brought it up to you, you told me I was wrong. Long
story short, your behavior still didn’t convince me you hadn’t changed
d p a r e u c a t i
your mind, and when I asked you again if you just wanted to be friends, an
H C P SS ed e suc-
you said you didn’t know but you still wanted to keep talking, and you
n m y i t to b
me i ’t wa
didn’t want to be distant. Well, you continued to be distant and then you
have the gall to tell me you’re talking to someone else, and you wanted
a l l . I c a n i n 20
y o u r o n g
Fuck you w
to be honest with me, but you still wanted to stay friends. Hmm. How is that
fair? Refusing to take an out when I gave you two and then telling me you’re
n d p r o v e d t o this
f u l a w a r
g for
talking to someone else?
cess l o o k i n k now.
I’ll admit, a lot of the hurt I’ve been feeling about you is my own fault: I knew
a rs . I ’ m l l ev e r
from the beginning what you were like, but I went for it anyway. But you know
ye
r e t h a n you’
mo
what? It wasn’t all my fault. I told you why I didn’t trust you; I told you I didn’t

reunion
want to be a rebound; I told you I had a history with untrustworthy guys. Yet,
you still insisted on being forward and making promises you couldn’t keep. I
don’t respect you one bit for that. And I don’t respect you for wanting to still be
friends — we never were friends before, and we won’t be friends now.

I don’t know why you felt the need to pick me up just to watch me fall, but I hope you’re happy. If you really
cared about me, you wouldn’t have rushed into anything like that. And don’t bother saying it’s because of
the distance: you knew about that from the beginning. The basic gist of what I’m saying is that I basically
had you pegged from the moment I met you. I was smart to avoid you all that time we worked together, and
I was dumb to believe all the bullshit you told me about wanting a relationship. All I
can say is I hope you find someone who is as obnoxious as you are — someone like

06 your ex, maybe. I’m sorry I couldn’t be that for you ... not really, though.
 “I just want to make you happy. I’ve tried so hard, but
I can’t do anything right. Why can’t you just be happy for me? I thought we were so
much more, but my other friends — my real friends — have helped me realize that friend-
07
ship shouldn’t be that much work or make me cry so much. Friends don’t make you cry;
they help you when you are crying over something else. They don’t cause those tears.

I’ve been trying to get you to talk to me, tell me why you’re upset, but you just closed
off with those snide comments and just making me feel horrible. And then the talking to
other people ... that’s killing me. I don’t want other people thinking I’m a bitch for things
I never did, but now they do. So thank you.

Thanks for telling all sorts of shit and lies behind my back. Thanks for throwing every
attempt I made right back in my face without explanation. I hope the two of you are
happy. You say I hurt you. I don’t know how, and I wanted to stop and make things
right, but you would rather me suffer. You would rather get all sorts of attention over
this unnecessary drama. Well, congratulations. You’ve gotten that. I have suffered, and
you’ve gotten your attention. But now, it really is goodbye ‘cause I’m done. You aren’t
a friend. If you were, you would have acted completely differently and TALKED to me.
So bye. I hope you enjoy each other’s company, but in the future,
you won’t be enjoying mine.”
To the
E CE girl
s: S
pissed m ome of you ha
e of f an v
d totally e infuriated me,
screwed
But to me over
my tw .
terpar o girls
ts of T , my E
eam A CE c
you both wesom oun-
so e: I lo
both de much, and I nee ve
arly. Ca d you
friends a n I trust we’ll sta
f te y
Absolute r we graduate
ly. Af ter d
all, we h ?
av
Glee nig e
Love you hts!
girls! <3
“When I was five years old,
my father died in a plane crash. I miss him
more than a girl who doesn’t really remem-
ber him should. All I have are some scat-
tered memories that I’m afraid to ask my
mum about in case I made them up. A few
home videos, some pictures and a box of
things he gave me and some things from
his childhood ... Daddy, although I don’t
remember you, I’m still your baby girl, and
I’ll meet you again someday, I promise.”

To him:
I was foolish to think that it would ever
work out from the beginning. Not be-
ing alone was my only incentive for
staying. It was selfish. I could scream
“I’m sorry” a thousand times all the way
to Iowa, but I’m sure you would just turn
your back. But I’m not mad.  Things turned “We be
because came c
out okay. I’m happy. I hope you are too. yo
my shou u helped lighte lose
lders.  B n the loa
ut when
remaine you left, d on
These random thoughts pop into my head may thin
d comp
lete
k you are ly disappeared at
all th
but you’r s . Yo
e really till ever ything to u
about you constantly. With this, I’m cast- it until no
w,
n othing. I
did
me,
best thin but you going a n’t realize
ing you away. You were amazing. g
added b for me — and no ay was the
onus of
getting to
w
w I have
the
new life la
from afa ugh at your
Goodbye. r.” :)

“You changed my life ... for good or bad, I’m not really sure. You made me feel so spe-
cial, like I was the only girl on the Earth for you. We had so many memorable times, and I thought you
were perfect for me. I will never forget how many times you made me laugh. So many people came
up to me and told me that we should go out because we were simply perfect for each other. And I
secretly agreed. Then we went on spring break together with some of our friends. That was possibly
the best four days of my life. We bonded so much, and there really was a connection. We both felt
it; you can’t deny it. But now I really don’t know what to think. You were going out with some girl that
whole time. And you barely know her, but I see right through it. You treat your girlfriend like crap in the
halls and don’t even talk to her. So do I want you to ever treat me like that? Nope. Bye. Have a nice
life. At least it was fun while it lasted.”

08
 To X :
I’m leaving ... for another country, another
place in slightly over two months. 
I’m horrible with goodbyes. The most I manage is a half-hearted ‘See you’ and a wave, half
09
of the time. But I suddenly miss so many things just thinking about leaving, and I suddenly miss you even
though I really shouldn’t. It’s illogical, really because I should be missing my ex more than I do you. But somehow I miss you anyway.
 
You don’t know this — or maybe you do, maybe you came close enough to guessing once. But I liked you for a couple of years: a very real, serious
sort of like. I don’t dare to call it love. I thought I’d moved on when I met my ex. But after we broke up, the one person I found myself pouring my
whole heart out to was you. You got the full version, and I don’t often trust people enough to reveal so much about myself. But it was you.

You hurt me really badly though, those two years. You had this other girl whom I’d never met but always heard about, which was why I didn’t dare
to tell you — or anyone — how I really felt about you. Your carelessness, your lack of tact ... sometimes I got really angry with myself because I tried
so hard to move on, but I kept getting caught in the same cycle. And the more I tried to forget you, the more I remembered the things about you
which drew me in. 

But ultimately I still miss you. I miss your seriousness, the way you drawl lazily, your sensitivity. I love your sense of humour, your laugh, those random
outbursts of singing. I love your voice. I miss the security I feel when I’m next to you. The snatches of time when we were together, just the both of
us ... you made me feel safe and uncontrollably happy. I miss the way you can read me. When we talk, there’s this click, like a switch flipping on.
You get me, and I get you the way so many people don’t. It’s funny how you were so observant but so blind when it came to noticing me because
I once thought I was perfect for you: your complement, as you were mine. We were so different, but we fit, and I felt it. Everyone saw it, but you
refused to see.

But you’re in camp now, and we haven’t talked in a while. I wish we would. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I leave — if our connection
is going to fade, if you will fade for me, if I will disappear from your life. I’m scared of it because you’re unbelievably precious to me. You inspired
me, you know. You changed me and made me stronger — a better person. I’m so grateful to you. 

I keep hoping that someday, I’ll meet someone just like you only better: someone who loves me back. But for now, I have the feeling that I’ll be
watching the plane take off with your face in my mind.

But for now, the only thing I want to tell you is I love you. -C

ill
times I st
ou, some
knew yy hello, and now My
my
eve r
thoug hIn even sa you.
w
I could ever kno ve for this
“Evenou. You died beforeledge that I will nso m u ch lo
nly
cry for y es at the know my heart holds I can o
h because ill
heart ac y grandmother: h stories. I tear in a mirror. I w
g
Nani, M now only throu oks like if I look ch or her stern
k u
person I at this person lo ndmother’s to never te
ach
kn ow w h
h e r g entle gra upid. She will fo r m e to
ow st ere
never kn I did something cipes, or be th er ... I will
re h
words if to cook family ers with keep you
d summ
me how will never spen ani. May God
talk to. I w. I love you, N
o
never kn
c lo se .”
“Your awkward smile
and cheesy expression
never left me.

Braces, a wry little forced grin,

it haunts me.

Silences too many

and when we held hands in the hall
so unwarranted but middle school formulaic,
I still feel the sweat and the timid squeeze

The strange emotions caged in

The brain and the jock
The sweetheart and the goof
So cute in theory but in execution nothing
but the thread of an idea and image holding us together

We were never right,

“No on
but we tried for a while. e
you ha has ever tre
v e. The ated m
Someone once said they saw us getting deep re
sentmen re is something e the w
ay
and you t. If yo b e h in
married years down the road. rself, we u were honest w d it, some
and forg would b
It was the first date, and I should’ve known et. If you oth be a ith both me
miserab w ould rath ble to fo
rg
when I got the chills and was completely and thought le , th at decis
io
e r b e closed o ive
we w n is y f f and
thoroughly disgusted at that thought, that mea ere supposed our own. Thoug
n to h
and you looked at me with puppy dog eyes ... goodby s nothing to you be friends, I gu I
e to my . If so it e ss
respect
It was never going to work. for you. shall be, I say
bye to o A
ur friend nd I say good-
ship. Go
odbye.”
But we really did try to make it a movie
written by two kids who didn’t know what was what.
Five months of an awkward sitcom: a girl and a boy
who didn’t know how to really feel, just how
to play a part.”

10
“Before I started talking to you, I thought you were
one of the most annoying people I knew. I’ll admit, I thought every single
thing you ever said was pretty dumb even once I did start liking you. I
11
put that aside for a little while because I was just so desperate to have

can only take this much! Please, please please: shut the fuck up!
nothing good to say to me, shut the fuck up! I’m not a priest and
To everyone around me: leave me alone ... if you don’t have
a relationship, and my friends said you liked me. But for some reason,
I eventually came to my senses and saw you for what you were: an
ignorant, obnoxious idiot who thinks he’s something special. The way I
treated you after that was wrong and bitchy, I won’t deny that. But you
can’t get mad at me after what you did to me on that night when I had
finally begun to feel a little happy again. You humiliated me, and you
hurt one of my best friends for no reason other than that you are a stupid
little baby. Before that night, I felt so bad about what I was doing to you
but not after that. I think you ruined any chance then of me ever falling un-
der your spell again. Hopefully, it’s only a matter of time until my friends
realize all of this as well, and we can go back to being happy without
all of the awkwardness you are now causing. This whole experience
has turned me into an entirely new person, one who, though might not
be happier, is certainly more mature and has realized what the impor-
tant things in life are. So I’m going to thank you for ruining that one night
because I think you might have just turned my entire life
a ro u n d with your mistake.”
“It’s strange how some-
thing can go from being so perfect
to being a complete disaster. I still re-
member the feeling; I’ll never forget it. I got
the text and saw the words. Everything in the
world stopped for the longest moment. No voic-
es existed for that moment; nothing existed for that
moment. I felt like I was spinning out of control and just
falling. It was like my body and my head were separat-
ing. And everything from then on was just ... nothing. It had
then started to rain. I wanted to jump out of the car on that
highway and just run. Within that moment everything ran through
my head, our whole relationship flashed before me. The happiness
I had built up came crashing down on me. All the promises you made
slapped me in the face. A week before this, you said you cared about
me and would prove it; you promised you wouldn’t hurt me anymore. Well,
now I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes, and my heart is aching.

When I was with you, I was — for the first time — at peace with myself and
the world. When I was with you, I could deal with things because with-
out even knowing about them, you managed to make them all better and
showed me they didn’t matter. You truly brought out the best in me. I was the
best I had ever been when I was with you. I remember all the little things you
mentioned when we were talking and put them in the back of my mind, and all those little
things about you were what made me fall for you. I remember so much of what you ever
said to me because I liked you that much. And because of that, so many things remind
me of you, and it hurts.

I just miss you so much. I miss us. I miss the way your hand would always somehow find
mine and the way your hand felt in mine. I miss your lips on mine; I miss the way you
would look at me; I miss the way you said goodnight to me. I miss your arm around me. I
miss your voice, your laugh. I felt so safe with you, but now it’s all over. The last two weeks
of school were horrible. Passing the spots where you would wait for me and where we
would kiss goodbye were just ... miserable.

I was so used to turning the corner and seeing your face there waiting for me. You were
there everyday for the past six months and suddenly, you’re just gone. I’m working on
saying goodbye. I can’t hold onto you because I know it’s over, but I will tell you this:

I’ll remember you forever. You did something really jerky, but I know you, and I know
you’re not a jerk. I’ve figured out the ending factor to your decision in breaking up with
me, and it’s a real shame. We were something great, and you threw it away. But maybe
I’ll find something better instead. You’ll always have a little piece of my heart, but I need
to say goodbye to you and the memories.”

“Last week, my cat died. And I know that’s probably an insignificant death compared to another human
family member. But Josie, my cat? She was 19, older than my brother and sister, and she’s been in my family for as long as I
can remember. I’m only 21. She was crazy and losing her memory, and the type of cat who tried some way to kill herself at
least once a year. And she managed to outlive all of our expectations. I suppose I should be glad she died surrounded by
her family, but I wasn’t there! I will be home in two weeks, and it breaks my heart I never got to say goodbye or tell her I love
her one last time. I wasn’t the one who held her on the way to the vet’s, who got to choose where to bury her yet she always
acted like she was MY cat, not the family’s. I miss her, and I’m crying again, and I just wish I’d gotten to see her again.” :(

12
 13
“After we broke up, I know I told you I
wouldn’t mind still having sex with you. And I know
every time we met up after that, we always hooked
up. But I was just afraid it was the only thing left that
would keep you talking to me. Not once did I con-
tact you because I wanted to use your body. Never.
I never saw you for any reason except that I am in
love with you. You never needed me, and I’m sorry
it took me so long to realize I can’t have you. I’m
growing up. Just know I always loved you,
and I always will.”
Dear Mom,
You were my family, my sup-
port team and my best friend.
You helped me get through
some of the hardest times of my life.
I cannot even hear the word “cancer”
without trembling. I watched you go
from being perfectly healthy to severely ill
in just two months. I watched as your hair fell
out from the chemotherapy and the way your
skin went from your normal pale to deep yel-
low from liver failure, to black from your heart
being unable to pump blood to your extremi-
ties. I don’t even know if you were able to tell
when I was in your hospital room or if you felt
my hand in yours. Our last few months together
still haunt me. I still get nightmares of the night
you left me. I’m sorry that I never thanked you
for everything you did to make my life better.
I’m sorry that I wasn’t more help in the last mo-
ments of your life with me. I’m sorry that I didn’t
tell you I loved you every day. I am the person
I am today because of you. Happy Mother’s
Day, I’m sorry and I love you.

Goodbye, Mom
“I know now that if I were to change anything, it’d be to change the fact we’re not friends anymore.
Every time I see you in the halls, I want to hug you, laugh with you, be best friends with you. I don’t know how
to tell you this, but you were the best thing that happened to me. I should have been there for you instead
of running away. I thought it would be for my benefit when in actuality, I died a little when I said goodbye. I
didn’t wanna show it. I wanted to be strong. Every night I cried myself to sleep trying to tell myself that I made
the right decision. I was wrong. I know you’re leaving this year, and I will probably never see you again. But
I want you to know I will love you forever, and you will always carry a piece of me with you because the
day I said good bye was the day you stole part of my heart.”

“You’re the only one who drags me kicking and screaming through fast dreams/
You’re the only one who knows exactly what I mean.”

14 Forever and always,

Your ex-best friend
 To my “best guy friend,”
15
We were both so shy when we met each other, but that definitely grew into romantic
feelings, sexual tension. I know you felt it too. But you chose her over me. I resented
you for it for a long time, but my feelings never went away. Spending that week with
you — without her there — was amazing. Even if nothing happened physically between
us, I felt guilty because she wasn’t there. But I also felt good, happy even. We pretend-
ed the attraction wasn’t there but it was. There were a lot of ‘almosts’ too. Almost hold-
ing hands, almost kissing, almost making out. But they never happened. I controlled my-
self because I knew you wouldn’t. I didn’t want her to get hurt; she did nothing wrong.
When you cheated on her though, it made me realize that I had wasted almost a year
waiting for you. You aren’t worth my time; you never were. I felt awful for her, but the
fact that it could’ve been me experiencing that intense heartbreak never left my mind. I
know now that you were only close to me to flirt. Once I started dating him and you re-
alized the ‘harmless’ flirting would need to stop, you almost completely stopped talking
to me. My relationship with him isn’t perfect — no relationship is — but I love him, and I
am happy now, happier than I’ve ever been. I’m glad I wasn’t that girl you cheated on
her with. I’m glad things between us didn’t work out.
“Why aren’t you here for me?
It’s the day before my graduation, and
you still haven’t shown. You were there
for their graduations. So, why are you
not around for mine? You know, it
doesn’t even bother me so much that
you won’t be at my wedding to walk
me down the aisle. It doesn’t bother
me that you won’t be the best friend
to my kids, your grandchildren. I don’t
care that you won’t see me off to col-
lege or help me pick out my first car.
Those things don’t matter. We’ve been
through so much in the past four years,
and you aren’t even here to see me
walk across the stage at Merriweath-
er Post Pavilion. Did I really hurt you
that badly? Are you so upset with me
that you won’t even call? I just want
to hear your voice one more time.
One of the last things you said to me
was “I’m so proud of you.” Why can’t
I hear you say it again? I’m selfish, I To my graduating class:
know, but I need to hear your voice You have driven me to the edge of insanity on
just once more. I need to feel the
warmth of your love. I need to know a good day. On a bad day, I dream of letting
that you’ll forgive me so that one day, loose with a verbal and possible physical tirade
I can forgive myself too. I love you,
Daddy. Do you know that? I never that would lay waste to the educational facility
meant to upset you or hurt you. I never I have been confined to with you. If not for the
wanted you to die even though those
were the last words from my mouth. presence of the two people I can and willingly
Please come back, Dad. I need you. tolerate, this year would have been so different.
Mom needs you. You mean so much
to us. I love you, Daddy. Never forget
that ...” I am glad we found each other. You are the
Your Baby Girl,
JMT best classmates, project partners, gossipers and
Class of 2010 friends a sarcastic cynic like me could ever ask
for. I may even be able to produce a few hugs
at commencement. You’re welcome, by the way.
These friendships best last beyond graduation,
16 or I will hunt you down — but out of love.
 17
“So, you’re going off to college next fall.
You’ll be making all kinds of new friends, have great experiences. And I’ll
still be here, stuck in the ‘Burg. You tell me to have faith in you; that between
texting and Facebook, we’ll stay in touch. Except I don’t just want to ‘stay in
touch’ ... you’re my best friend. We’ve been through things that should have
torn us apart, but these obstacles only made us closer. I want to stay best
friends while you go through this because I don’t know what I would do with-
out you. I really don’t think you realize how much I value your friendship, and
when I say I’m going to miss you all I want you to say is ‘I’m going to miss
you too.’ But the fact that you don’t say these things and only dance around
the subject make me doubt your staying in touch. I really want to have faith
in you, I really do. It pains me to doubt you. But I’d rather be prepared for
reality than keep living in a dream world — something I’ve picked up from
you. So hopefully, this really is only See You Later, and not Goodbye.”
 E S
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“It’s been an interesting road for WINS since the project launched nearly
a year ago. With three volumes, a blog and a Facebook group with over 500 members, the
movement has grown and sustained itself in ways I never imagined last October. WINS Vol. 1
19
was featured on the home page of Scribd and has over10,000 reads and 2,000 downloads.
The last two volumes have generated 20 new pages of rants each.

Whether WINS Volume 3, however, marks the end for this project is up in the air.

Goodbyes are always painful and hard to say. Some people avoid them, others timidly get
through them and some deliver them with bravado. This theme was chosen as a means to as-
sist people as they say goodbye to the past. Be it graduation, transferring to a new school,
breaking up with a significant other or losing someone, goodbyes are incorrigible parts of our
daily lives. To say goodbye is to say thanks to someone or something for the memories that
they created. I owe that to all of you.

To everyone who submitted rants: thank you because this project is solely driven by you. To
everyone who has read WINS: thank you because this project is for you. What I’ve learned
through this process is anything is possible with support. While I have no immediate plans for
WINS, should there be enough interest, I am always happy to do another volume. Keep rant-
ing and I’ll find a way to provide the platform. After all, this may be goodbye for now, but the
words on these pages will last forever.”

Alyssa Bailey
WINS Founder and Editor
wordsineversaid@gmail.com