Transitions

We are losing another from the program. Hien will not be returning in the fall; he's actually leaving this Saturday to go back to California. A bunch of us went out for lunch today with him for his sending off. Probably won't be seeing him again.


My cohort is nearing the end of our second year of the PhD program; we've lost four now: Julia left halfway through first semester midterms, Lori didn't come back after that first fall (although I think had been through a year of the master's program), Manjola didn't show up for summer classes, and now Hien is leaving after the end of the second year.


I'm actually sad that any of them left. More people is always preferable to fewer; it makes for a more varied and interesting academic setting. But I suppose if they don't like it they should have left and not stayed for the rest of our self-interest. I think it could only have been better for those of us still here if people weren't dropping out (but of course, maybe not better for the people who did drop out).

PS - Saying goodbye today, Hien said he would come back and visit. I sincerely doubt that is true. When people are making what is commonly understood to bye long-term (or final) goodbyes they always say something like "I'll keep in touch" or "I'll come back to visit lots". Do they really mean it? My sense is everyone knows it's not true; is it a mechanism to soften the transition? I never liked this "custom", it always seemed so fake to me.