The hardest part of living is saying goodbye.
It hurts.
And dammit, it should hurt.

The friendships I’ve made with Edward Lewis and Agustin Gonzalez at The Daily Aztec are irreplaceable. And the same can be said for the many great friends I met through them.

It’s unimaginable to me now, but the first night I partied with Agustin, I told him that I didn’t trust him.

I was a fool.

Partly because of unresolved feelings, and partly because we were tanked on a hippo’s dose of Captain Morgan rum, what eventually ensued was an epic slap boxing match at 2 a.m. in the middle of Mission Boulevard. But the slapping ended with us laughing, and we walked back to Agustin’s house with our arms around each other like best buds. And it’s been that way ever since.

I can say that Agustin literally slapped some sense into me that night. I learned going around not trusting people is no way to live. It only leads to a lonely place, and an unfulfilled existence. Agustin also helped me learn that slap boxing someone who is trained in fist boxing is a bad idea. Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt so much when you got a little Captain in you.

Invaluable life lessons were also learned from my good friend Edward, who inspires people with his passion to be the best at what he does.

From Edward, I learned it’s possible to go from looking “below average” to handsome with a single change in hairstyle. When it’s all said and done, Edward’s best career move won’t have anything to do with journalism. Instead, it will be that golden bro-hawk.

Edward, this means your greatest achievement in life is now behind you, and on top of your head.

But truthfully, I couldn’t imagine having written for a better sports editor. Edward was deemed by his professors at San Diego State to be the “Most Outstanding Journalism Student” in his graduating class (likely because of the hairdo).

Yes, what I’ll miss most about my time at SDSU are the friends I’ve made.

I’ll remember the countless nights in Pacific Beach, walking to the bars while pumped with a full tank of bravado. Edward and I often say we’ve never had so much fun getting turned down by so many women.

But the same can’t be said for Agustin.

On these nights, it was custom for various ovulating women to drag the more physically attractive Agustin to the beach for, I’m assuming, impressive acts of lovemaking. As for Edward and I, we’d accept our honest night of rejection and walk back to crash on Agustin’s surprisingly comfortable floor. Without fail, I’d wake up the next morning cuddling a sexy, half-eaten burrito.

But as the nights went on, I found myself sleeping cold and alone on the carpet, no Edward in sight.

See, Edward found himself a girlfriend, and subsequently lost all charisma or inclination to hang out with his friends. His personality became so deflated that his own shadow abandoned him out of boredom. But his girlfriend — being the amazing woman she is — replaced that shadow with her own, and we’re grateful to have begun seeing progress in Edward’s personality.

Yes, what I’ll miss most about The Daily Aztec are the times we all shared joking around with each other.

I had a blast covering SDSU football games and the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament in Las Vegas. From press row, we witnessed history.

I enjoyed being able to walk onto the court or onto the field during games and getting mistaken for someone important. And fine moments were shared after games when cruising in the Mustang with the top down, “Toot It And Boot It” bumping through the cool, California air. As we’d drive away, I’d always make a point to look back at Qualcomm Stadium as it glowed in the night, knowing we were a part of the most exciting time in Aztec sports history.

And that’s how the past couple of years have felt. I’ve felt like I’ve been on this beautiful ride, cruising next to my best friends with the top down and the music humming. And when I’ll look back on this time, no matter where I am, these memories will glow like Qualcomm Stadium did on those October nights, and I’ll know this was an incredible time in my life.

I have my friends, family and God to thank for that.