I am writing my farewell column for an organization I never thought I would join. And reflecting now on my last three years with The Cavalier Daily, I would not change a thing.
I left high school with an intensely bitter taste for school publications. I didn't think twice about the paper for an entire year.
But at the start of my second year, a combination of things left me in the basement of Newcomb Hall. In the same week a friend on Emmett Street told me to get off my butt and do something at this University and one of the
CD's best reporters wrote a critical article about my fraternity.
Somehow in the course of one Sunday afternoon that second year, my disgust for The Cavalier Daily and its vicious reporters transformed into an experience I always will cherish.
My perception of the paper was not changed by some realization of the power of the press or an acknowledgement that The Cavalier Daily does great things for the community.
Rather, it came from the people I met in that newsroom. In the past 22 years I have never met a better group of people. And after three years in the basement, my opinion of the staff has only grown.
The students down there give an incredible amount of time to this school, putting out an award-winning paper five times a week. Every one of the staff members makes a sacrifice by working there - from managing board members who relinquish the better part of their life for a year to a first-year staff writer who stays until 10:00 p.m. one night.
But it was not until well into my third year at The Cavalier Daily that I realized that while staff members give a lot of themselves, the paper gives more back to them. The CD works under the cover of a 16 page edition to provide a place where its staff can belong - an environment that I could describe for pages without coming any closer than calling it a family.
Second-family is an overused term at the University - a phrase attached to almost every organization on Grounds at one time or another. But there is no other word for a place that accepts you unconditionally and then gives you an environment where you, with all your faults, can and will grow up.
It is a group with which you can share your excitement and bring your troubles - where someone notices when you're down and picks you up. It is something you will hate one day and love the next - but you can never leave it.
And I'm glad I never left. The Cavalier Daily has given me memories and friends that I never will forget.
So the first thank you in this column goes to the paper. I can't thank everyone down there enough for letting me be a part of something great that I will take with me for the rest of my life.
Tom, you're the best leader I've ever had. I have a huge amount of respect for you.
Lindsay, a year ago I never thought I'd say it, but I couldn't ask for a better boss. Thanks for putting up with my crap. You'll go great places.
John, you're a good friend and you'll do a great job this year. Thanks for the lines.
Brian, be angry - very angry. Keep the Man in line.
Michael, thanks for being the antidote. You made the basement a great place to work.
Nicola, you're the best coeditor I could ask for. Your intensity and dedication put me to shame.
Margaret, you're a great friend and you made the paper a terrific place to work. Thanks.
To the entire JB, thanks for putting up with me. I had the greatest job ever thanks to you guys.
The next thank you goes to my real family. I would not be here today without your help. As much as I might like to think I can do it all on my own I can't - and I never have. Mom and Dad, you mean more to me than I could ever tell you, and you've given more to me than you will ever know.
Walter, you have an incredible three and a half years in front of you. Take it in and live it to the fullest. You'll put me to shame.
Susan, keep knocking them dead. You'll go places I can't even imagine.
Now for the two things that brought me to the paper. Jimmy, thank you for everything. I probably wouldn't be here in Charlottesville, much less writing this, if it wasn't for you.
And to St. Elmo Hall. You guys are the coolest dudes around. We've had some great times together, but more importantly I've learned so much from being in this house. Don't take crap from anybody and keep the keg beer flowing. Be patriotic!
So this is goodbye. I've had the best four years imaginable, and I wouldn't change any of it.
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