By Gisella Brok
Dear newspaper,
I’m unsure of how to start this off. After four years, writing my final article feels surreal.
To my classmates, both past and present, thank you. The lively energy you all brought to the classroom every day made it a joy to walk into. To my graduated upperclassmen, thank you for your endless advice (and for editing my articles, which definitely needed the help). To my underclassmen and seniors, y’all are so talented and vibrant, and I know I’ll miss walking into class, excited for the day ahead (and never really knowing what to expect). Truly, I am so, so grateful for each and every one of you.
To Mr. Newman, thank you for teaching me the art of journalism. After so many essays, learning how to write something where you can actually say “like” instead of “such as” and use first-person pronouns has helped my writing tremendously. (Not to mention, it’s been especially valuable in writing college essays). Also, thank you for teaching me that an interview is really just a conversation if you let it be.
And thank you for forcing me into the senior lounge my freshman year to ask if anyone there would like to be interviewed. Though absolutely mortifying in the moment, it threw me out of my comfort zone and taught me not to be so scared. Really, the worst thing that can happen is not getting the interview (which, I’ve learned, isn’t so bad).
Most of all, thank you for your humor. Even when I’m drowning in other classwork, I’m always laughing in your classroom.
As I look back upon my time with the newspaper, I smile at the countless times I’ve run back to interviewees to grab a cover picture…and then forgot to convert it from HEIC to JPEG (sorry, Mr. Newman, for the number of times that happened).
Ironically, as a freshman, I wrote an article titled, “What Difference Does Four Years Make?” News flash: four years makes a HUGE difference.
First of all, I wrote a lot more words than I do now (thank you to Mr. Newman for teaching me I don’t need 4 pages for an article!). I wrote about how we freshmen were looking forward to our first high school homecoming, which is crazy to me now that I had experienced my final photo just two months ago (has it really been two months already?). In one of my interviews, one senior mentioned how he can still remember his first day in 6th grade. I thought he was exaggerating, but as I look back, I can’t agree more. Writing this article, I’m starting to notice how fast time flies (sorry for the cliché, but it’s true).
As for my pride and joy, “Gisella Eats,” it’s been fun. I know I’ll end up adding to my notes app full of restaurant review notes for “Gisella Eats” next semester, even if my name is taken off Mr. Newman’s attendance list. Somehow, my spur-of-the-moment idea of a restaurant review column expanded into something bigger…something with an actual name.
Except, it didn’t start off as Gisella Eats but rather “Szechuan and Persian Cuisine” (So basic…Glad I’ve grown out of that.). After going back and reading the article, I described multiple things as “so good.” Safe to say I’m not doing that again. Thanks to Gisella Eats, I’ve learned how to take food photography and how to make people think, “Yeah, I would try that.”
For my final review, I celebrated two big milestones: reviewing my final restaurant and turning 18! Both of these made me realize that yeah…time is actually passing…very quickly.
With teary eyes (cut me some slack, I’m a very sentimental person), I say goodbye to Gisella Eats, to my newspaper class, and to the Lovett OnLion (though I’ll stay subscribed forever).
Thank you newspaper for everything,
Gisella
