Not good-bye, just see you around campus

Wake up, snooze my alarm, wake up to the next alarm, debate snoozing it and then get up and start the coffee before the shower. Then rush to figure out what I’ll wear because I’m going to be late to my editor’s meeting, again. Head out the door, get to the newspaper room in Old Admin, wave at the people who have become my closest friends and take my seat next to them at the table. 

That’s pretty much how I’ve started my Tuesdays for the past two years. But next semester I won’t be doing that same routine every Tuesday, or even on Wednesday and Thursday to work on the paper and plan for the next week. In case you haven’t deduced what this article is going to be about, it’s my farewell article. 

This could very well be the last opinion any of you ever read with my name on it. 

I know, I know, such a sad day. 

I’m sure someone else will be able to bluntly write about what they’re thinking after me, so don’t be too sad. Plus, I won’t promise that I won’t lend a hand occasionally if the need arises. 

For those of you who don’t know, I don’t write for classes or for my major. (I’m a science major this does not help me at all.) I wrote for fun and because some things need said.

Sometimes articles were a bit of a rant for me and other times I was struggling to think of something to write. But even when I didn’t want to write anymore, or certain people decided they would treat me different because I wrote something they didn’t like before even meeting me. I have loved working with my best friends here and I wouldn’t have traded my time at the paper. 

I got to work with and met some of my best friends in that room. I also met people I didn’t like, learned how to look from their points of view and grew in my ability to handle those people. 

In fact, dealing with those people helped build new friendships. And through dealing with the people that disagreed, I learned a few things. 

Firstly: Remember, if you didn’t have a point or make a dent in their argument, they wouldn’t be mad. Sometimes people don’t like your opinion and want to yell at you for it. At the end of the day, it’s an opinion, I don’t have to prove myself to anyone who gets mad about it. 

(This first point doesn’t apply if you are just inherently wrong. Always research before you decide to argue.)

Secondly: I am capable of doing a lot of things that I used to be scared of or would have made me too stressed previously. In fact, I handled a lot more stress than I thought I would have been able to my freshman year.

And lastly: I learned a lot more people read what I write than I thought, and they are going to ask me if it has anything to do with my personal life. (It didn’t.)

So, while I could talk forever about working with my favorite girls. I’ll save you from the stories and leave you with this. 

Thank you to all the friends I’ve made in the newsroom, I’m so glad I get to call you my best friends. Thank you for those who can handle reading different ideas and growing from them. Thank you to the poor people who answered ‘Man on the Street’ questions from me for two years. And thank you to all the people who encouraged me and weren’t afraid of a little girl with opinions. You guys are all the reasons I write. 

And to end this with the most important thing I’ve learned and joked about here:

While the world burns, The Eagle soars.