It seems like no one stays content in the season of life they’re in. As an 8-year-old I wanted to be 10 so I could hold up all of my hands when people asked how old I was, and when I turned 10 I wanted to be 13 so I could finally live as a teenager. The same goes for 16-years-old so I could drive, then I wanted to turn 18-years-old. I became so wrapped up in wanting a different stage of life I forgot to live in the moments of the life I once desired.
I walked into a high school of seniors sharing with me that it goes by faster than you think, and they were right. My time as a Legacy Bronco seemed to end all too soon, but my time as a journalism student seems shorter. I will never forget the endless papers and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt I watched with Mallett in J1, but I will not lose much sleep over the crazy goose-in-a-bucket project we did. When that year ended, I started a beautiful season of working on what seemed like a real, paid newspaper staff. The stories I wrote, the people I interviewed and the friends I made, made newspaper sweet and special. Then the famous event everyone experienced, COVID-19 took my two years of newspaper and warped it into something I had to relearn and reshape. Despite the masks, the sickness, the tough stories and interviews we had, I fell more in love with my job and the people I worked with.
As I think about walking the stage, I think about how much I wished I lived in the moment, savoring everything high school has to offer. And even though these past few months I have tried to savor time more often, it still flew by.
My staffers this year were the best staffers of any year, though my opinion might be biased. They not only learned fast but they worked hard throughout the whole year. With motherly love, I grew fond of watching them all bond a friendship inside the class and outside of the class. I will miss the weekly discussions of dating, the mid-morning donut runs and them stealing the rolling chairs. All 11 of these people became my people which makes it so hard to leave. They won’t understand how much I love and care for them and I pray the best for them as they continue on their legacy in journalism.
My wonderful advisors shaped me for the better and gave me leadership to watch and follow by example. Without Mallett or D, I never could do the editor-in-chief job they gifted me with. Without them, I would not have enjoyed journalism or high school as much. They made my four years memorable because they not only cared for me, but they consistently pursued me and intentionally built relationships with me – even if they had to make fun of my silly sayings like PRNDL to do that.
Even though Photo, Broadcast and Yearbook hardly collided with Newspaper, the friends I made in every publication made my heart joyful. These were the peers I could come to laugh about unmet deadlines with and pull hair out with when things didn’t go my way. They were my sanctuary and for that, I am forever grateful.
I know now that no matter how much I try to soak in my last few days, I will miss high school, but mostly journalism because of how it impacted me. These people have been my people for four years now and even though I don’t quite know if I am ready to leave them, it is my time to let them run the program and make it better than I left it. My staffers are capable, my advisers are knowledgeable and my friends have a bright future ahead of them.
We walk into high school with the understanding that we want to leave a legacy when we graduate. And though I hope I left a legacy of intentionality and kindness, everyone in journalism should know they left a bigger legacy of love and commitment in my life to which I cherish as I enter in my new season of life.
Journalism, you were good to me. To my advisors, thank you. Newspaper, I forever will love you.
