Leaving had never been this hard. Freshly out of school, I was eager to progress to the next stage of my life. Moving halfway across the world to pursue my undergraduate studies at Rutgers University was a decision I was looking forward to. In fact, I had grown accustomed to such a way of life. As a result of my parents' occupation, I had been moving from one place to another quite frequently. I enjoyed visiting new places and exploring different cultures. On the other hand, Kuwait had become the country where I had spent the most time and leaving behind my family and the friends I had made over the years was challenging. Even though I knew I would eventually leave to pursue higher studies, I felt I had settled down somewhere for once. Kuwait felt familiar; it felt like home. The decision to go to the United States was not made any easier by my dog.
The furball you see snuggled inside my suitcase is Ringo. He would repeatedly sit on top of my luggage, preventing me from packing. Attempts to pack around him resulted in the new item being thrown out of the suitcase and attempts to remove him resulted in him sneaking back on top of the luggage. Even though I may have contemplated the idea for longer than I should have, I had no intention of closing the suitcase and bringing him to the United States. How did I finally manage to finish packing? After exhausting all other options for packing with our dog in the room, I had to close the door to my room. This just meant I would have to tune out all the whimpering, whining, and scratching outside my bedroom door.
Ringo has always hated suitcases. For as long as I can remember, he would try to prevent us from packing as he would not see us for a while when those suitcases went out the door with us. It wasn't that I wasn't expecting this behavior from him while I packed to go to the United States. It was the fact that the time I would be away from him would be much longer than usual. By the time I was getting ready to start university in the late summer of 2021, the pandemic restrictions had been significantly relaxed. Students could now travel to their respective universities in the United States. I, who had spent over a year at home studying online, would be leaving for the university as soon as summer ended. I would leave my dog, with whom I had spent every second with, to travel to a different country. We had grown closer than ever before, having spent more time with Ringo than my parents, who could later work in a more hybrid setting. He'd be snoozing in the background during my classes, sitting on my lap while I worked on assignments, or playing with me in my spare time. As a result, seeing him put up a fight while I was packing was both the cutest and most disheartening feeling.
As adorable as it was at the time, when I unpacked after arriving in the United States, I discovered a load of fur my dog had shed onto my luggage. Ringo is a corgi, a breed known for shedding profusely all year. For months, even when he wasn't around, I would pull strands of his hair out of the fabric of my clothes. It was almost as if he was still nearby. Even though our interactions are now limited to video calls with my parents, seeing him still brightens my day. I'm also grateful for the energy and companionship he's provided over the years he's been with us.
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