I hate to leave, but I'm dying to go

This the last class of my last year at Harvard and I am the last one to speak today. At the end of this speech it will all be over.

I hate to leave, but I’m dying to go.

I think leaving is one of the most heart-wrenching experiences in life. I hang onto every moment, especially time spent with friends – all too aware that it is the last time; the last time it will be exactly like this.

I remember when I left Canada to move to India when I was 22. I would have this eerie feeling while walking the sidewalks of Ottawa that none of the passers-by had even the slightest clue that in a few days I would no longer be there, in quiet Ottawa but somewhere in the middle of the chaos of the Subcontinent.

I’ve left so many times already and had so many good bye parties, that I unfortunately or fortunately don’t all remember… But sometimes I think that I am getting so much practice at saying my good-byes that eventually I will grow numb to the phenomenon and leave without that pinch.

But no, I caught myself once again this week overwhelmed by sentiments of regret. I was packing my bags and sifting through my piles of notes (of which, by the way 90% landed in the recycling bin). Somewhere at the bottom of the pile was my “memory lane” folder. Ever since I was a little girl, my mother had gotten me into the habit of saving all my ticket stubs and concert programs and stuffing them into a folder that she had labelled “memory lane.” As I went through the folder’s contents, I was reminded of how full of a life we all lead here while at Harvard:

Dominique de Villepin at the Forum, the annual Harvard vs. Yale game, the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Social Enterprise Conference over at HBS, a few plays on Broadway in New York, Jeffrey Sachs in the Science Center…

For a moment I toyed with the idea of not writing this speech… after all, it is my last assignment here and if I don’t complete it… perhaps I could stay for another semester and prolong the fun?

But, I had to be honest with myself. While I hate to leave I’m dying to go…

Dying to go places and do things…. Transform the many ideas I got here into action.

We learned here that the world would not be the same today if people just stayed put. Gandhi would have never left India to learn about the law and civil liberties in London. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have never assembled his coalition of supporters of the Civil Rights movement had he just stayed put in Atlanta, Georgia.

The many leaders we studied here understand that leaving does not mean that you are breaking with the past, it means you are embracing the future.

Many of us in this class will be done with their coursework the moment I finish this speech today. I feel very honoured to be here on this important moment in your life, standing in front of you as you embark on a new journey just like me.

And so initially, I thought I would invoke the words of a great philosopher and children’s book writer, Dr. Seuss, to send you along:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

But I thought that would be too cliché

Instead, I’ll leave you with my own two cents…

Whether you are off to a summer internship or off for good, as you pack your bags and feel that pinch, remember a ship is safe in port but that’s not what ships are built for.

Every end marks a new beginning and there are vast oceans out there to explore.

As I end this speech that ends the year, I am truly excited by the incredible beginnings this end draws near.