Goodbyes are hard because sometimes they just feel like they've been forced on you or they feel just so permanent, even when they're not always like that.

My brother had a close friend at primary school. He was called Paul, and he was a really nice boy. I didn't have many friends in my class, so I hung out with my brother loads, and me and Paul became friends. His dad owned a news agent down the market, and we used to hang out loads over there. It was for sure that my brother and him were close.

Less than a year later, Paul has come up to us in tears telling us he was moving away and he didn't want to. During the moving process, he and his older sister moved into their grandparents place for a while which was only around the corner from where we lived. We met up more often then, and made sure that the last summer he was here was the best.

It got to the leaving day, and we were all in tears. We exchanged numbers and e-mails and addresses, and promised we'd see each other again. We watched the car drive off, and my brother gave chase. We were on a downer for weeks - him more than me.

We did meet again for a weekend while we were on holiday. He lived a couple of miles from where we were staying, so he came and stayed with us for a while. That was a couple of years ago now... really we should get back into contact. =S

The hardest goodbyes for me is when someone you know passes away. A lot of the time, you just don't expect it.