At The Daily Campus, there’s only two sections where writers can’t overlap: opinion and news. As a journalism major, I chose news without giving opinion a glance. I’ve loved my time working in news, but sometimes, I do wish I could share my opinions.
Well, they can’t fire me now, so here’s my chance. Fortunately, there’s only one opinion that I want to write about as I graduate: I have the greatest friends in the world. I know a lot of people might think this, but it’s my opinion, so you can’t tell me I’m wrong.
First things first, I want to thank all the editors that came before me and mentored me. They set high bars, and I hope I lived up to them.
As for those coming after me, there’s no one I’d rather have taking over the news section than Kevin and Mikayla. Pierce was the best associate editor I could have asked for, and I know he’ll kill it as business manager. Sam, next year’s editor-in-chief, is an incomparable writer, editor and friend, and I can’t wait to see her at the helm of the newspaper.
I also want to thank Sara, who was with me at our first ever news meeting and remained a good friend all four years. Sara, I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to go to that meeting without you, and look where we ended up.
Justine Pearlman is the kind of friend I can’t get enough of. Seeing her brings an instant smile to my face. Justine, I miss seeing you every day, but I’ll also keep facetiming and texting you when anything at all happens to me.
Hayden, thank you for making me laugh so hard that I literally get nauseous. Your wisdom, humor and Roku TV trivia skills brighten my day every time we see each other.
Connor Sharp, I treasure every one of our lunch conversations that distracted me from my work. Whatever we talked about was always more interesting than that work anyway. Ky’Lynn, your infectious laughter made my day every time we spoke, and I’m jealous of the kids who will get to have the coolest teacher ever. I still think you stole my water bottle, but at this point, I’m just glad my plight brought you so much joy.
Connor Lafferty, you were my saving grace when I hesitantly decided to make friends at the newspaper. You make me laugh hysterically, you listen when I talk about every detail of my day and your heart and leadership are genuinely inspirational. Colbi, just seeing your face and hearing your voice can turn around a bad day. You are kind, tough, talented, brilliant and every other positive adjective I can think of. I’m already plotting my visits to both of you next year.
Karla, our fearless leader, our shining light in the darkness, our sweet, beloved Pez, is simply one of the best people I’ve ever encountered. Karla is someone I remember wanting to be friends with because she seemed so amazing. When I did become friends with her, she turned out to be more amazing than I could have imagined. Karla, our friendship means the world to me, and I can’t wait to see where your passion and intelligence take you.
There are also people outside The Daily Campus who need a shoutout. Emma, I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you as my day one. Thank you for hanging out in my little single dorm as a freshman and being the sunshine I need every time I see you. Mia, I genuinely think fate brought us together as roommates, because our late-night conversations and your infectious joy are the greatest gifts I could ask for.
Lizzy, you have been there for me every single day, making me laugh and listening to all my problems and pointless stories. You are the light of my life, and I can’t believe how lucky I am that our chance meeting turned into the friendship that carried me through college.
I could write a whole article about each of these people and the many others that made my time here so precious. But we don’t have all the time in the world. The point is that I love and will always be there for you all, and that’s because you are the most unbelievably fantastic people I know. But that’s just my opinion.
Awesomesauce