After 24 issues, 36 web stories and countless accidental Oxford commas, my time on The Green Pride is coming to an end. While I’m definitely battling through senioritis to get this story done, I’ll be continuing the senior tradition and saying thank you and goodbye to the fabulous Green Pride staff.

First off, shout out to all the awesome staff reporters. I wish I had more time on staff to get to know you all even more, but I already know you’re going to do great things in the coming years. Camryn and Maggie, your design skills and leadership abilities are awesome, and I know you’re going to add so much creatively to the staff. Hayley, you always brighten up our windowless classroom with your positive attitude. Justine and Ella, your sharp reporting and writing is impressive, and I know you’ll only continue to get better. Alicia, you always make me laugh and your bright personality comes through in your work.

To the section editors, thank you for all of your support and forgiving all of my editing mistakes and putting in long afternoons after school to finish up our issues (with McDonald’s in hand!). Clara, I am always impressed by how thoughtful and mature your opinion pieces are. Abby, you have an amazing artistic and creative energy, not to mention great horoscope advice. Sam, even though I disagree with your opinions on psychology, I’m impressed at how much you do for the staff while balancing eight million other activities. Maya and Ally, I’ll always remember your Victorious sing-alongs. Try not to call 911 from the staff phone next year. Alyse, thank you for being my frequent co-writer and a great designer. Lizzy and Ellie, you have both dedicated so much to the paper ever since your freshman year, and I could not have gotten through this year without your help.

Finally, to my fellow seniors, congratulations on making it through the last three years on staff in one piece. Kelly, you’re a great writer and even better at making sarcastic jokes. Johnny, thank you so much for going to countless football games, musicals, dances, pep rallies and so much more to get pictures for the paper. I might yell at you for humming, but seriously, our paper would be full of clip art without you. Finally, thank you to my fellow Editors-in-Chief. Micah, you are the best writer I know and an even better friend. I’ve learned so much from you—including how to use an em dash—and Reaghan, we’ve been pretty much inseparable since we sat together on the first day of newspaper sophomore year. We’ve been through many procrastination crises together, and I’m glad we’ve stayed friends even if we occasionally disagree on page colors. I’ll miss you when you’re at Bradley (better known as Brad), but I know you’re going to do awesome things.

I’ve managed to drop out of a lot of activities in high school, but newspaper is one of the few things I’ve stuck with all the way through. I’ve been through many awkward interviews, missed deadlines and panic-inducing, rainbow-spinning-wheel of death incidents, but the friends and memories I’ve made on staff have made all the stress well worth it. Please don’t take my quotes out of the pumpkin, and keep up all the amazing work.

Peace out,

Rylee