Say goodbye again / 又說再見

去年夏天請女孩們寫十八歲的故事，文章我收著，想做畢業前送給孩子們的禮物。因為不想陷於改作文的命運，所以我就畫了一張明信片回贈。

I asked the girls to write stories about the age of eighteen last summer. I'd been keeping the essays, thinking about using them as the inspiration for their graduation gift. I believe unrevised writing has its value as well, so I simply illustrate each story on a postcard. 

        用竣弟和宴蘋送我的Fabriano色鉛筆畫，色調和其他牌子的很不一樣。

     I use the colored pencils of Fabriano given by Jun and Irma. The color tones are rather unique. 

        真班的則用慧平送的來自捷克的三色筆。看了這些故事之後，深深體悟到我對於這些孩子們的認識真是有限。

     As for the other class, I use the three-color pencil from Czech given by Christine. After reading the stories, it dawns on me that I have very limited understanding of the girls and their lives. 

        拆禮物有儀式，每個人先去認領自己的信封，裡面含有自己的故事和明信片。

     There is a ritual for opening the gift. Everyone looks for the envelope with their name on it. She'll find her story and postcard. 

        孩子們也送給我很棒的禮物，他們覺得我很像小王子，所以每個人都畫了一張小王子的明信片送我。

     The girls also give me fantastic gifts. Thinking of me as the Little Prince, everyone creates a postcard based on the figure. 

        我的鐵櫃風景非常令人羨慕。

     My locker becomes an eye-catching gallery. 

        孩子們也附上一盆艷麗的玫瑰花。

     The girls also prepare a pot of blooming roses to go with the postcards. 

        又過了三年，中間孩子們教了我很多事，然後我們說再見，不過不是太別感傷，道別的日子就像平凡的一天，感覺哪天在轉角又會遇到，哪天又會喝個咖啡，可能對我來說，人生是持續的，三年只是過程，而不是獨立的段落。

     Another three years have gone by. In the process, the girls have taught me much, and then comes the time to say goodbye. Strangely, I do not feel particularly sentimental. The commencement feels like another ordinary day. I am very sure that one day we'll run across each other or grab a cup of coffee somewhere. I guess for me, life is an ongoing journey, and the three years are part of it, instead of an independent segment. 

        接下來我要成為怎樣的老師呢？我自己也很期待！

     What kind of teacher will I become next month? I am looking forward to my change!