As I am sitting here on the couch in my room, trying to figure out what to write for my last article in the Maroon-News, I get disrupted yet again by a call from the other room – to final edit an article. See, over the last four years, the newspaper office has become as close to “my room” as Stillman Hall, Read Hall or Newell 3 (living in ATO last year, of course, does not count). This office is my room, and the dozens of editors I’ve worked with over the years have become like my roommates. And seeing that tonight will be the last time I’ll spend an Thursday evening/Friday morning here, it’s finally becoming clear that my time at Colgate is nearly over.

From the very first day of Maroon-News Pre-Orientation, I knew that I wanted to be in the exact position I now am. Being the person that I am, I saw the Pre-Orientation letter sent over the summer offering a place on the newspaper staff, and immediately I thought of becoming editor-in-chief. (It was only after getting to Colgate that I discovered I in fact wasn’t that special – every incoming student got the same letter). Nevertheless, I signed up and joined the staff, and it has been by far the best decision I’ve made while at Colgate. Many of my favorite moments from my time at Colgate took place in this office and with the people I shared the office with. The newspaper has allowed me to meet so many fascinating people that I never would have gotten the chance to meet otherwise. Frank, Jessie, Julie, Meg and Stef were some of the first people I met at M-N Pre-Orientation, and it has been great to keep working with you all over the last four years. And for everyone else who I have met stepping through the doors of the office – it would take up too much space to name everyone – it has been a pleasure (well…most of it, at least).

More amazing, however, are all the weird coincidences that have allowed me to do so much else. If my FSEM advisor had not been a Classics professor (thanks, Naomi), then I probably would never have been talked into becoming a Latin major – which, perversely enough, I actually am thankful for. Latin also allowed me to take an extended study to Italy, which was easily the best three weeks I spent as a Colgate student. There’s nothing more fun (or scary, as the case may be) than wandering around the less-than-beautiful parts of Rome with no idea where you are – and getting college credit for it.

If I hadn’t been wearing my Red Sox hat to the Student Involvement Fair at the beginning of freshman year, I wouldn’t have been called over to the CUTV table by a fellow Sox fan to sign up for his sports talk show. If I hadn’t been Colgate Sports Editor sophomore year, a random guy from some college basketball website I’d never heard of wouldn’t have called me looking for a Patriot League reporter. It’s funny how those things happen.

There are so many things I’ve done that I had never dreamed of doing, and I feel like those things are more important even than the things I wanted to do. Not to sound like the final paragraph of most every “In the Light” column, but my advise to younger students is to get out and do new things – there is so much that this school offers, it opens up so many new opportunities to explore and take advantage of.

With all those things come so many people. I am very grateful to still be close to most of the people I met freshman year in West Stillman. To Maria, who has been such a great friend and wonderful person over the last four years, and to Cindy and Saraswati, who are constant sources of entertainment, thanks for everything. I’m especially thankful to Pat, who has had to endure not one but two years of me creeping back into the room on Friday morning at all sorts of ungodly hours. And to Rachel, who has provided me with the greatest surprise of senior year and continues to put up with everything that I do, I cannot thank you enough for all that you do for me. And of course, to my family, without whom none of this would be possible.

As the night draws to a close, some things are absent from a normal Thursday night. The server isn’t screwing us over (although the printer is still broken), the pizza’s long gone before 7:30 p.m. and Jessie hasn’t fallen asleep on the couch in the back room – yet. Of course, other things are still the same: Arts and Features is gone by 8 p.m., Atit is still spewing profanities and I’m still listening to Virgin Radio – although I’m part of a dying breed in that respect. It seems like a regular Thursday night, except that it’s my last one in the office. I guess now it’s time to find a new favorite hobby.