I’ll be honest – I thought this would be easier. Those who know me well enough know that I’m never short on words, and yet as I sit here and write my send-off, my final published article in four years here at The Chronicle, the words aren’t coming as easy as I thought.

There’s no way I could sum up my time at this paper in just a half a page. I’ve lived a lifetime’s worth of incredible experiences in just a few short years, and even through some ups and downs, I’ve come to look at The Chronicle not just as a newspaper, not just an office tucked in the most remote corner of the Student Center – it’s become my home away from home.

When I arrived on campus as a freshman, I knew two things for certain: I wanted to make friends and I wanted to write. I was away from home and on my own for the first time in my life, and the inevitable wave of homesickness had begun to set in in a big way.

Then I was told about The Chronicle by a kid that I happened to strike up a conversation with in the School of Communication one day. I checked out a meeting, got my first assignment and the rest is history. I don’t remember his name, and I’m not even entirely certain I would recognize him today, but I still owe him so much. One totally random instance changed my entire life … it’s funny how life works that way sometimes.

As I became more involved, rising from staff writer to assistant editor and finally to sports editor, I realized that The Chronicle made me love Hofstra in a way that I had never expected. I got to hone my craft as a journalist, while also making some of my best friends and getting to do remarkable things.

I’ve made trips to Brooklyn and Baltimore, seen some of the best college basketball powerhouses in action right in front of my own eyes and I did it with some exquisitely talented people right by my side. A big aspect of journalism is getting to know people, and I’ve been blessed with working alongside some of the hardest-working men and women on this whole campus.

I’d like to personally thank the editors that came before me: Mike Rudin and Kyle Kandetzki. You took a chance on me as a freshman, and I hope I’ve made you all proud.

I’d like to thank our editor-in-chief Joe Fay for steering this paper straight to the moon. I remember meeting you for the first time as a freshman, and now you’re running the whole show. Keep up the good work kid, you’re making the entire sports section proud.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper send-off if I didn’t mention my partner-in-crime and better half, PJ Potter. These past couple years have been a blast, from breaking a bed in Baltimore to our Sunday night layout meetings that were actually just incredible vent sessions. You’ve helped me grow as a writer and as a person, and I’m so damn proud of you.- I know Edenton’s getting a good one down there.

I’m definitely over my word count now, and maybe that’s a good thing because otherwise I would go on forever. This paper has been my home, but everyone has to leave home at some point. I’m apprehensive and uncertain of just what exactly life outside of The Chronicle will hold for me, but it’s a leap that I can’t wait for.

After all, I was nervous about leaving home the first time – my actual home. But if I hadn’t done that, then I would never have found myself here at The Chronicle, and I would have never gotten to experience the happiest four years of my life with the group of people I’ve come to know as my family.

I wouldn’t change that for the world.