My time on The Lion’s Roar newspaper began shortly after I became diabetic. I had a friend, one of the previous Editors in Chief Sara Patrick, who I reached out to in search of an on-campus job. Thanks to her, I began my tenure in which I started off as a Staff Reporter, became the Opinions Editor, a position that helped me not to hold back my feelings, then Assistant Editor which enabled me to work under the people I now consider my best friends and now I end my journey at The Lion’s Roar as Editor in Chief. 

Unlike the Doctor from “Doctor Who,” who hates endings, I can’t rip out the last page to avoid the end and stop it from happening. It is my time to move forward onto the next chapter of my life, either good or bad, it is that time, and I suppose it can be iconic coming at the end of one of the worst years to have lived through. “Goodbye 2016. Thanks for the good, but I’ll do my best to forget you.” 

Through my years of working for The Lion’s Roar, I have made some fond memories. I have met people that I wouldn’t have met any other way: through interviews, through helping other staff reporters on stories, people that reached out to The Lion’s Roar that I have become acquaintances with and of course, all the fellow staff reporters I have become friends with. Some have graduated or moved on in life while others will still be continuing the paper next semester and ensuring that, to the best of their ability as The Lion’s Roar always strives to do, will bring the university the best and most informative newspaper possible while continuing to follow their academics as students bringing pride to what it means to be a Lion. 

I could go on in a long cliché of how working for the paper has bettered me and prepared me for the future, and in innumerable ways it has. So, I won’t go into great detail outside of mentioning that I see the world more as it is now. I know how to respect people I don’t agree with and for the most part, I can go forward to accomplish what I need to when the world is falling apart around me. I can hold up and maintain a professional persona when I would rather do anything but that, and this list only grazes a pinch of the surface of endless life lessons that have shaped who I am today and what path I will follow in the future. 

For me, I will continue my education as a graduate student. I’ll pour all my focus into that as I use these next couple of years to not only finish getting my Masters at the university, but to use the extra free time that I will now have to focus on fixing the mistakes in life that are my fault not life’s fault. 

Who doesn’t make mistakes? Everybody that continues to grow, most often grows from screwing something up. As for the problems that were outside of my control and can be blamed on life, I’ll just leave those on the side road and keep pushing forward. 

Creating Issue 14 of Volume 88 of The Lion’s Roar is not the end of my story. In fact, unless an unforeseen tragedy occurs that cripples the person who I am, this is only the end of a portion of my story. Hopefully, this is the ending of a quarter of the story with the making of many fonder memories that will be influenced by everything that I have learned on the newspaper. 

I could continue this article with endless lessons I’ve learned while working on the newspaper, how it bettered me as a person, how it helped influence my future and all the good that has come from it, but I believe I would bore you to death, especially if we never had the chance to have a deep and intellectual conversation with me in person. I don’t think Student Publications could afford all the extra ink for the endless amount of extra pages of print. 

So, I’ll end with just a few more words and endless memories. I want to mention how I was able to follow and be a part of Miss Louisiana and Miss Southeastern Beauty Pageants, how I will not forget when I fell in love with the band Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds while covering them at The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, how I understood why people love sports and even if I still do not care for them or agree with all the politics, I learned how understanding may be more important. During my time here, I saw the conception of a proposal through the wedding actually taking place, I heard and felt sympathy for those who lost loved ones and I was able to explore and see a deeper understanding of the arts, whether visual, theatre, music, etc. Needless to say, this is only a couple of the moments of the forever moments I could mention. 

So Southeastern, thanks for allowing The Lion’s Roar to be a part of your campus, and I can’t wait to see where the newspaper goes as I continue my life on a new path in 2017.