By Ricardo Camacho ’27
Lately, I’ve been trying to soak up every moment with my best friend, Gwen, before she heads off to New Zealand for her study abroad program. As excited as I am for her, I can’t help but selfishly wish she’d stay—five months just feels like too long to be away from her! But she’s not staying (and that’s okay), so here’s a little glimpse into the bits and pieces of her farewell week—moments that, in their own small and lovely ways, made saying goodbye just a little easier.
As my friends and I slowly made peace with Gwen’s upcoming departure, we chose to fill the week doing things we all love most: sun-bathing (and diving headfirst into waves) at Laguna Beach, enjoying live music, and, of course, sharing plenty of delicious eats!
Laguna has always felt like a world of its own. It’s where many of my closest friends and I escape from our busy lives at school to nap ridiculously hard beneath the warm California sun, lose ourselves in books we’ve been meaning to read for far too long, and fend off the usual swarm of hungry seagulls from devouring our Sprouts picnic.
Over time, it’s become a place that holds such a special place in all our hearts, so Gwen’s send-off definitely wouldn’t be complete without including a trip there. When we arrived, it felt like we were joined by what seemed like thousands sprawled across the glistening golden sand, and hundreds more balancing on surfboards, trying to ride enormous waves with minimal wipeouts. Meanwhile, the girls and I, as we do best, were baking in the unrelenting afternoon sunlight, hoping the high UV would give us a little extra color before we left.
And to end on a high note, we wrapped up our time there with a Love Island watch-party, anxiously waiting to hear that our favorite Islander (Amaya Papaya, we’re rooting for you!) was safe for yet another day in paradise—and secretly wishing that our least favorites would finally make their way out of Fiji (I’m looking at you, Ace and Cierra).
Later that week, our destination was a bit more inland, but somehow the company of others managed to stay the same. Alongside thousands of fellow ravers—including, as we later discovered, Hailey and Justin Biebert—Jenet, Gwen, and I danced to the dynamic hits of Martin Garrix at the heart of the Los Angeles State Historic Park.
Since we all fell into EDM and House around the same time, her final week here wouldn’t be complete without one last rave before she travels halfway around the world.
The night was a thrill, to say the least. I always love the moment when unexpected dance moves break out from the both of them, and the joy of jumping around with strangers who treat you like lifelong friends—a big shout-out to the PLUR community that night!
And, of course, like most of our time together, we wrapped the week with plenty of good eats to tie a proper bow on it all. Admittedly, we must’ve been starving because we somehow walked away with zero photos of what we ate—a rare occurrence for chronic food photographers like us. All I can really say is that our stomachs were very full, and so were our hearts, by the time Gwen said her final goodbye.
As she heads across the Pacific and enters this thrilling new chapter, I’m left with a camera roll full of memories and a heart that’s a little heavier, but also fuller. Her farewell week was truly the best kind of goodbye I could’ve asked for: one marked by so much laughter, spontaneity, and love. And even though five months feels like forever right now, I can’t wait until we’re all back at Laguna, jumping wildly at some crowded concert, or passing around a delicious plate—doing all the things that made her goodbye week so unforgettable.