I was hoping I would cry writing this. Make this nice and emotional. But that’s not happening. Whatever. Anyway, when I sat down to write this, I didn’t know what to write. I still don’t know what to write. This whole thing is just going to be me rambling, which is pretty fitting, actually. I didn’t plan what I wanted to write, I didn’t have a list of points I wanted to make sure I included and I certainly haven’t been working on this all semester long. Everything is haphazard and I’m going with the flow – much like my approach to being editor of this section. It is what it is.

See, the thing is, I care about the important stuff, but I’m not one to get worked up over it. Anyone who paid attention will know that this section had a ton of ads this semester. That’s not a good thing, but I didn’t sweat it. Stuff happens. We’ve had a rough go of it this year – if only I had a dollar for every time I thought about quitting. Emily Barnes and Rachel Bowman didn’t know what they were getting themselves into when they volunteered to be assistants last spring. But that’s the beauty of this whole thing. We all like to think we have our lives together and we like to imagine that everything is fine and in order, but the reality is that sometimes (read: More often than not) life throws stuff at you that you can’t control. Life decides it’s going to play “Grand Theft Auto” and kick you out of the driver’s seat. That’s when you just have to say “OK,” and get in the passenger seat and hope for the best.

Real talk though, working on this paper has been one heck of a ride. I started just writing two or three things my sophomore year, went under Amanda Valentovic’s (who I’ve drunkenly texted, despising her for leaving me all this work to do in her wake) wing in junior year as her assistant features editor and now here I am – features editor with two assistants of my own. Shoutout to Emily and Rachel. Y’all are going to do some great things with this section.

The amount of crazy devotion and love I’ve seen this staff put into the paper is just incredible. Late nights in The Chronicle office are absolutely terrible, but then the next day you get to hold this thing in your hands that you worked together to make.

So here’s a thank you to everyone who makes this paper possible. You gave me the opportunity to be a part of something really special. Also, ask Joe Fay who the real editor-in-chief is (spoiler alert – it’s Riley).