This Is Goodbye

Hey loves!

This is one of the hardest articles I have ever written. I left LPCUWC on Tuesday evening and it was much harder than I thought it would be. I only lived in Hong Kong for two years but it has become my home over this time and some part of me will always remain in this city. It is sad to know that I will lose the feeling of being home in Hong Kong - even if I return, it will not be the same anymore. I will not know the way through a MTR station by heart anymore, or the best noodle place in Ma On Shan, or the one shop where trousers fit me easily. It is the little things that make you feel like a place is a home; the knowledge that allows you to move through a place without needing to consult Google maps.

But the thing I will miss the most is the abundance of smart, inspiring, and simply engaged people with who I got to spend my time in Hong Kong. When we all packed our bags after our graduation ceremony on Sunday, it felt like we were all also packing lessons that we learned from one another into our suitcases. I will miss our passionate canteen table discussions and our never-ending debates about the best and worst school policies. Thank you all for these two years - I could not have asked for a better time. I attached pictures of our graduation ceremony to this article if you would like to see some of the incredible people who made the past two years of my life so amazing.

Many people have asked me whether I would choose to attend LPC again, knowing what it would be like. The answer is definitely yes. I learned so much from my two years here and it is hard to put this into words but let me try. The most important thing I learned at LPC is to think differently. Being at LPC teaches you to look at situations and ask yourself whether things are sustainable, whether they contribute to society to the best of their ability, and how they could be improved. It is a way of thinking that invites you to get engaged in society and change things for the better. I hope that I never lose this way of thinking and that it will help me to do something good in the future.

I am looking forward to hearing what my amazing classmates will have done at our ten and twenty year reunions. Until then, I hope to stay in touch with as many of them as possible. Many of them have returned to stable countries, but some are returning to war zones, unsafe places, or countries that lack a stable government. I wish them safe travels and hope that they will not be negatively affected by their countries’ situations.

I returned to my German hometown, Stuttgart, on Wednesday but I left after less than 48 hours to visit my family in northern Germany. My grandfather turned 80 and we will be celebrating today. It is great to see my entire family again after more than five months without them. They have actively supported me throughout my two years and I really appreciate how much they cared for me during that time. I will only be staying in Germany over summer and I will then move to another country for university. I am still deciding between two universities but no matter where I end up going, I am excited for the new adventure.

LPCUWC’s class of 2018, thank you for the magic. Now go and do great things!

Lots of Love,

Elena