At the end of last year, I wrote a farewell article, but it wasn’t quite goodbye. It was my intro into being Editor-In-Chief, and I knew I had a whole year ahead of me until I was done with high school and the Wingspan.

Now, though, it is a real goodbye. I never went a day in high school without seeing VW or Mancini, but after four straight years of going to journalism every day, it’s over. 

Graduating high school is a bitter sweet thing. There is so much to look forward to, since we’re stepping into the real world, but there is so much we’re leaving behind. That’s the part you don’t realise until the very end — that we are going to miss all the days we wanted to stay in bed all day instead of going to school. We are going to miss the teachers that we complained about because their classes were stressful, and we are going to miss eating lunch with our friends, even though the cafeteria was always overcrowded and too loud.

For me, I’m going to miss writing. As boring as it sounds, there was a lot of comfort in sitting in the journalism room and getting to work on an article. From the very first day of freshman year, it became a place to get away from the chaos of high school. 

I joined the class with the sole intention of being a photographer, but I quickly learned that I liked writing, and I wasn’t half bad at it. Still, I didn’t plan to make anything of it. But I can’t imagine things being any different. Being Editor-In-Chief and running the paper was something that kind of came naturally, and I loved every second of it.

It wasn’t exactly how I thought my last year would go because COVID definitely threw a wrench in my plans, but we made the most of it. Every member of the team came together when it mattered, and they helped me every step of the way, especially when it came time to finally work on the print issue that I have been looking forward to since my sophomore year when I first realized that I might be put in charge. Getting out a print issue was always my goal for my final year, but it didn’t look too probable back in September when school started .

But, we did it! After weeks of writing and editing, time spent taking photos, and over twenty hours of designing, we finally got that Senior Issue. Sure, it took learning to use a software I didn’t know how to use and trying to meet a deadline thirty minutes after being temporarily blinded by my eye doctor, but everything came together.

I think it was a nice way for me and the others graduating to say goodbye, and something for the rest of the Class of 2021 to hold on to. 

Today, those issues will be handed out along with our diplomas, right after we walk across the stage and officially graduate. And maybe only half the class will actually read them, but all that hard work was worth it. To get something out of this messy year, something physical that I get to take home, is the perfect way to end my four years working on the Wingspan.

Now, I get to add my name to the wall (which I am going to do even if I’m not allowed to), next to all the past writers that have worked on the paper. A pointless tradition to most, but something that you begin to understand the longer you’re in the class. It truly is a legacy, and it is an honor to have been a part of it.

Thank you VW, Mancini, and every member of the Wingspan staff that I got to work with!

js

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.