Well, here we are, like freshmen sitting outside the dorms by the family car, while our dad, Barry, packs away the empty boxes he used to get us set up.

“You’re on your own now, kiddo,” the president says to our young nation, peaking over the rolled down driver’s side window of his Prius, pulling away without a single look back. Because he knows not to coddle us. And he’s knows we can handle it.

We force back the lump in our throat, a lump that comes not from doubting our abilities, but rather from a fear of an unknown future.

But thankfully, even on this bittersweet day, Twitter and its jokesters are there to lighten things up during President Obama’s very sad but very inspiring farewell speech.