Although I am not graduating until May, this will be my last column written as an Auburn student and as a member of The Plainsman.
There were times I griped and complained about my job, but, believe it or not, this has been a tough decision to leave the newspaper that has been my second apartment since my freshman year.
I was hired at The Plainsman during my second semester of my freshman year by an editor who was either crazy or took a chance by hiring someone who had never had a journalism class at Auburn.
I was first hired as the Assistant State and Local Editor. I think it was the best time of my freshman year.
My mother works at Auburn University, so when I was in high school I would always read The Plainsman when she would bring them home on Thursday nights.
I wrote for my high school newspaper and, after reading The Plainsman many Thursday nights, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
I found out about Plainsman applications through a journalism e-mail. At first I figured they only hired juniors and seniors, but I decided to go for it anyway.
After I was surprisingly hired, I poured my heart into every article I had. I was crazy about my job.
It even got to the point where I would bring my phone into the bathroom while I was showering in case one of my sources called me back. Eventually I became State and Local Editor and my responsibilities became larger than I expected.
Although there were times I cried in The Plainsman office and times I wanted to kill people, all the responsibility was worth it.
Whenever someone tells me they are going to apply at The Plainsman, I give them a look that can’t be described. I guess you could call it a look of “you need to know what you are getting yourself into.”
I have seen the best times at this newspaper, but I have also seen the worst.
During these bad times I have contemplated quitting, and I have told people that I couldn’t take it anymore.
This paper, however, is like a family member you love to death. Although you love them, they are the one you complain about the most because they are the one that is always there for you.
Even though I have had some of my lowest points while I have been at Auburn, The Plainsman has always been a constant in my life. No matter how much I have ever wanted to quit, I couldn’t ever bring myself to do it, because when it comes down to it, I really love it.
It’s like I tell people, “It sucks you in and you just can’t leave.”
I believe, however, my time has come and it will be good to have someone who has the same passion I had take over my position.
The one thing I credit The Plainsman with the most is everything I have learned about journalism, because it is more than I have learned in any journalism class here at Auburn.
I will miss this place with a passion, and I wish David and my predecessor the best of luck.
