In high school, I took Intro to Journalism in my first semester and was on staff for all four years. I thought that designing yearbook pages, photographing sports events and writing stories was fun. I saw it as a hobby. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t think I was good enough, to continue in college. Luckily, my marketing communication major forced me back into student journalism in my junior year, and I’m so happy it did.
It’s hard to believe that timid girl became defined in our advisor’s eyes as the Taylor-Swift-obsessed young adult who dropped everything to spontaneously see the Eras Tour in Paris while on a May Term trip to London. If you’re curious how that happened, just ask Siebert. He pounces on every opportunity to tell that story.
I can’t possibly sum up what Student Media, what Simpson, has meant to me in the standard 500 words. The run-on sentence curse is an even worse plague on my mind than it is on the page. When I see this in print on Thursday, I’ll be inclined to think, “I wish I mentioned this,” or, “Oh, I could have said that better.”
I think most people have heard the saying that art is never truly finished, just abandoned. While I’m not trying to insinuate that this directionless rambling, or anything else I’ve had published, is art, I do think these creations give me grounds to challenge that notion.
Sure, there’s always more that could have been done. I could’ve gotten another interview for that story, could’ve done more research, could’ve not procrastinated the crap out of this farewell letter because saying goodbye makes leaving feel far too real.
But abandonment implies haphazardness: tossing aside, neglecting. But we do not turn in these stories, or conclude our time at Simpson, haphazardly. What is missing from the aforementioned cliche is intention.
In the last year, I have been acutely aware of how little time I have left to exist in the state of current Simpson student. And yeah, I’m holding onto that label until the bitter end. It has been the greatest blessing of my life to let this place and these people mold me into an entirely new version of myself.
So, no, I am not abandoning my college experience by walking across the stage this Saturday. I will be carefully preserving the memories, connections and accomplishments that have made these last four years worthwhile and meaningful to me.
Like learning the power of white noise, finally falling asleep at 2 a.m. after giggling for hours in a New Orleans hotel room with Abby, Hannah and Kenzie (#PanhelLove #Barb).
Like having my first-ever Simpsonian story make the front page.
Like traveling halfway across the world and leaving the United States for the first time with friends by my side.
Like founding a student advertising agency for my marketing comm capstone and hoping it will be my legacy, living on long past my graduation day.
Carponelli, Steffen, Siebert: I am indebted to you for your guidance and support. You challenged me in ways that made me better. It is almost impossible to describe how profound your impact on me has been, but I am unbelievably grateful.
When we release stories to the world, they are shared, not abandoned. When we leave Simpson, we do not abandon it. We, with intention, leave it for others to experience for themselves, just as we did.
Simpson is a million stories I will never stop telling. That way, I’ll never really have to leave.
