News can feel like a whole bunch of things all happening at once. Schedule the interview, take the picture, meet the deadline, and make sure to cram all of it into your jam-packed schedule. Go, go, go, and keep getting after the next story. But what happens when it’s all over? When the end of the year comes around and and third period journalism ends and all of the chasing abruptly stops? The bell rings, and the class that was a constant in my ever-changing life is over. Is it bittersweet? Less stressful?

This was my second year in News. As a junior, with my senior year schedule in the back of my head at all times, I knew that the class I had looked forward to coming to since sophomore year would at some point be over. In fact, there were a lot of things this year that felt like they would always eventually be over. Although I’m not a senior, this school year felt like one of many lasts for me. Last homecoming with all of my senior friends, last French class with my crepe-making buddies, last advisory with Ms. Craig before she moves away and last story in News. I am a very nostalgic person, so I know going into everything that I do, that it won’t last forever. That being said, News has taught me this year that nothing has to last forever in order for it to be special.

Everyone will grow up, graduate, and try new things, and that is a part of life. Chapters end,and new ones begin. When thinking about all the friends I’ve made and memories shared, it makes me emotional to think that it will all be over. But the beautiful thing about it is that all chapters actually do end. Not just the joyful ones, but also the difficult ones. The rough patch will end. The seasons change.  I remember doing a story planning session in News a few months ago. Someone had brought up that a teacher was retiring. I had never had the teacher, or even shared a conversation with him, but something about him retiring made me feel sad. “His career is coming to an end. He must feel so down,” I thought to myself. In reality I’m sure it is a very bittersweet ending for him, but also such a jovial one. More time to spend with family and do the things that he loves.

I choose to see the ending of this chapter with optimism. All of the friends I have made in class I will still get the pleasure of seeing at school next year. I get to see Mrs. Basinger in the halls, and I get to keep up with our publication to see the amazing stories my classmates publish. Even though I am going to miss laughing over good news, watching bloopers of Black&Red TV, and trying to figure out how to get the Gimbal to film horizontally, those are things that I will cherish always as I look back on the past two years of high school. Mrs. Basinger made this class fun and inviting for everyone in it and helped me become more confident. Not just in News, but in life. I can come to a job interview  professionally because I can shake their hand prepare appropriate questions.  I can ask questions to get the full story. I can execute my ideas. All because she believed in me and the whole staff. Being a part of such a knowledgeable and gifted group of classmates challenged me to be a better journalist, and I am thankful for the newsroom and the people in it.