So there I was, sitting in the back of Mr. [Greg] Stobbe?s freshman honors Englsh class trying to make myself as small as possible. I did not want to raise awareness to myself for fear of the consequences that were sure to follow. I just wanted to survive and get out with my ?A?.

But Stobbe had different plans for me. After hearing of my abilities with a computer and my mind for design from another teacher, he hounded me for weeks, trying to get me to join his journalism class the next year.

Join journalism? I did not read much more than the comics and scan the sports page in the morning paper. What did I know about writing about current events? But because I am not one who says no easily, I gave in and signed up for the class.

That was three years ago and though I would not have thought it then, it was one of the best decisions I made.

Initially, I was under the guidance of fellow editor and friend Alex Elmore, ?05, for two years before it became time for me to take control of the paper. Though I learned much during those two years, my senior year was still an eye-opening experience.

I was ready to break from all the pressure from my school schedule. I spent my lunches and my afternoons working on the newspaper almost everyday. I tried to balance a social life, my responsibilities as editor-in-chief and the hardest academic schedule all at once.

But somehow I made it through my first semester as of my senior year as able to take a breath. Though second semester has not been nearly as strenuous, I am thankful for the insanity of the first half of the year. It was during those times when I thought I could I could no further when I learned that I could persevere under the most difficult circumstances.

Journalism has been a great joy and a heavy burden, but mostly it has been an opportunity to grow academically and personally.

I want to thank all journalism staff members, past and present, for the times we shared. And last but certainly not least, I want to thank Mr. Stobbe for his hard work, his infectious exuberance and most of all for his foresight to see that freshman in the corner as more than just another student.