You get used to people leaving in academia.
Retirements, faculty leaving for other opportunities, or students graduating. Someone is always going somewhere. I think it's easy to become jaded to the process.
This go-around has been different. Maybe I've taught long enough to really connect with the students. Might be spending three years helping this particular cohort. It's possible I've become sentimental with age.
Whatever the reason, I find myself overwhelmed with happiness and sadness for this group. I'm always proud of my students, but I'm proud of this group. I've gained more apprecation for the cohorts before them, and find myself at another loss: a loss of opportunity for the students before.
Leaving is a process of loss. It's important to stay open to the process. We have to let things go. Such is life.
I think there's a lot to gain in loss, in leaving something behind. It's an ebb and flow.
You get used to the process of loss.