The ‘Burnian was my first and last job at Blackburn, with virtually nothing else in between. Like so many before me and so many after, being a general reporter was nothing like I’d expected. In fact, the entire student newspaper scene was nothing like I’d expected and beyond that, college was nothing like I’d expected. Being in over my head seemed to be an understatement, thrown off was only one portion of how I felt and for the first time in my life, I felt intellectually stimulated and challenged.
Before entering the second semester of senior year, I was aggressively advised by a friend, a college graduate, to really enjoy the semester. He expressed his woes for neglecting to enjoy his last semester of school, and suggested that I try to soak up the college experience before graduation. Unfortunately, it was one piece of advice that I couldn’t take for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I felt I did not have the time.
One of the most major life lessons that I’ve learned through my involvement with The ‘Burnian, NSAC, senior seminar, etc., is that deadlines don’t care about your happiness or your health. Sometimes to get things done, and more importantly to get them done correctly, sacrifices need to be made. Since January, I have sacrificed one or two full nights of sleep each week. On two separate occasions I pulled back-to back all-nighters, and it wasn’t until later after catching up on sleep that I realized the other lessons these all-nighters taught me.
- Deadlines don’t care about your happiness or your health, but oftentimes people do. The biggest error I made when I entered college was entering with the belief that I had to do everything all by myself. One of the best things about college, and definitely about Blackburn in particular, is how many people are willing to help you if you ask for it. Make sure you speak up.
- Being your own harshest critic is both a blessing and a curse. If you are anything like me, then you hold yourself to an incredibly (sometimes impossibly) high caliber… in almost all areas of life. For coursework, this means spending an unnecessary amount of time on each assignment trying to make it as perfect as possible. Sometimes students forget that in most cases the only ones who are going to see the assignments are the professors–do good enough to get the grade you want and then stop working. It’s not worth the extra headache and losing even more time and effort on something that ultimately has zero impact on your life.
- No one can tell you how you did, do or will feel. I am pleading with all professors, alumni and other college graduates out there, please stop telling us that we are going to miss this. Stop telling us that these are the best years of our lives. Stop telling us that we will regret not taking the time to enjoy our last semesters. Pulling back-toback all-nighters is not easy or enjoyable, but after 48 hours of being awake it became very clear that I will not miss this semester of college. Maybe each and every student who graduates from Blackburn will one day realize that they do miss college, but also maybe not. Let us figure that out for ourselves.
Four years ago I joined the newspaper as a general reporter. The moment this issue hits stands, my reign as editorin-chief will officially be over. It’s been four years of writing, four years of editing and proofing, four years of design, headlines, photos, advertising and relentlessly hard work. We aren’t professional journalists, but we’re doing the best we can. Leading this team has been one of the most difficult and most fulfilling things I’ve done on this campus, so I’m glad to know that I’m leaving the paper in hands that are even more capable than my own. I can’t wait to see what happens next