Parting is such sweet sorrow

Today is my last day at 澳大利亚国立大学 Last night was Canberra winter at its gorgeous best, so I went for a walk around campus.?Kambri was buzzing with students, in Fenner, Badger and Co, the gym and spilling out into the night towards Civic. It was a beautiful night and it all looked like a movie set for a film about the best of campus life. It’s a scene played out on campuses all over the world at the start of every semester – the optimism and excitement of new experiences, new friends and the opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

Romeo and Juliet was playing on campus at The Rep, and I couldn’t resist going.?For those of you that haven’t heard of it, think of it as a stage play based on the Baz Luhrmann film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I played Peter in the 2014 production at the 澳大利亚阿德莱德大学 so I love seeing how others interpret it.

I think the genius of Shakespeare is the memorable moments and great lines that stay with you and get you thinking about other things they might mean.

One such line is from Romeo - “He jests at scars that never felt a wound”. It’s easier to make light of other people’s misfortune if you haven’t suffered yourself. These last three years we have all had our share of wounds, both at work and in our lives more generally.?Some have had difficulty with mental health, struggled with home schooling, lost loved ones, lost their job.

One of the effects of the pandemic has been we have had a greater insight into the struggles of others, because our work and life have become so intertwined, and people have shared so much more about what they are going through.?Well that’s how it feels to me anyway.?I think overall this is a good thing.?Work is such a big part of our life, and being more emotionally available to each other is important.?It’s going to be interesting to see what that means for workplace culture in the coming years.

Another very relevant line for me is from Juliet - “Parting is such sweet sorrow” (some say the COO's version is "Parking is such sweet sorrow" but that's another story).?Parting from ANU is a bitter sweet moment for me.?I have really loved being part of the ANU community and the experience has crept under my skin and into my heart far more than I realised. As has the higher education sector, which I leave today after twenty fabulous, challenging, frustrating and inspiring years.

Whenever I see Shakespeare, I think about all the other productions playing right now across the world – it’s incredible to think there would have been many Romeos and Juliets on stages last night (sadly not so many Peters).?Just like the experience of the start of semester in Universities across the world, it is something profound that connects us all to something bigger.?It makes us human.

As Shakespeare said - “we are such stuff as dreams are made on”.

And that’s a wrap folks.