I’d only been on Hofstra’s campus for about 48 hours when I joined the Chronicle. Freshly transferred and stuck among hundreds of freshmen during Welcome Week, I was eager to immerse myself in The College Experience (all capitals). I knew I had a knack for grammar rules, spurred by a childhood of voracious reading and editing my more mathematically-minded little sister’s high school essays. Copy was, genuinely, the only section I wanted to sign up for. Before I’d even attended a day of classes, I was on the team.

It’s ironic how much difficulty I’m having with beginning this send-off. As a journalism major, writing is what I’m supposed to be able to do with ease. Give me an album to review or a person to feature and I don’t struggle to write. But how do you write a goodbye to one of the best parts of your college experience?