To the Green Pride staff,

Well, here is my last web story ever. I know this sounds a bit cheesy, but thank you for all the memories. Truly, I am so grateful for the laughter and memories we had. Before I get all sappy and sentimental, I would like to remind you all of why we are on staff. 

I know that each of us joined The Green Pride for a different reason. Whether it was for an easy credit or to connect with the student body, we all chose to be a part of this team. We all knew what we were signing up for and, I hope, we were all eager to start. However, as the semester goes on, we sometimes lose sight of why we joined. 

We forget what a privilege it is to be a journalist. We sometimes dread interviewing people and getting stories done by the deadline. Some days we run out of page design ideas and don’t know why we are doing what we are doing. Trust me, I am guilty of it too. There have been days where journalism is the last thing on my mind. There have been days where I wondered what I would be doing if I didn’t join the newspaper.

However, I want to remind you of just how special and lucky we are to be on staff. During times such as this pandemic, we are reminded that we, as journalists, are the source of news for many people. We are the place they look for details and how to live their lives. We are the source of knowledge, of unbiased news and of hope. Our words are very important to our readers. Our words tell their stories. They tell humanity’s story. We cannot forget about that. We cannot forget that our job, as a reporter, is so important to the story of us. We must tell those stories and seek out the truth. 

We are also in the middle of a monumental time, so when future students have to do a research project about the coronavirus they will see our stories pop up and they will gain insight to what life was like. Our stories are making history. Isn’t that cool? Doesn’t that excite you and motivate you to write? Like wow, my writing has an impact and will be part of the history textbook of De Soto High School. Please do not lose sight of the importance of your position as a journalist. You have a wonderful opportunity to talk to people and tell their stories. Anyways, enough of my soapbox, thank you for reading. Now is where I get emotional and say goodbye to you all.  

To Sam and Deleana, you two are amazing and will do great things. You both had such an excitement to learn how to design pages and you asked lots of questions to be at the level you wanted to be at. That is a valuable quality. Keep that up. Keep asking questions and seeking out answers.

To Spencer and Kyle, you guys create amazing videos. I know we don’t talk a lot about the film side of The Green Pride, but those videos are really neat and important to our website. Keep it up. 

To Ethan, thank you for dancing in class and making me smile. You are a really great writer, and I enjoyed reading your stories. Keep doing what you’re doing. 

To Lynlee, Ella, Natalie, Kennedy and both Abbys, thank you for always being able to edit my stories and page designs. Each of you is so kind and amazing. Your personalities bring light into the classroom and it shows in your writing. 

To Jack, thank you for being you. Your crazy self and your ideas always make me laugh. You always made newspaper interesting and entertaining. You also are a good writer. Keep applying yourself and working towards your goals. I really hope you get your milk shorts back soon. 

To Hunter, I am going to miss ranting to you and have real conversations. I still don’t think a certain teacher knows it was us who put that clown photo in their room. Haha. They might know now. I know you will do great things in the near future and I am so grateful I got to spend my time on staff with you. 

To Chase, I really enjoyed getting to know you this year and talking to you in class. I’m going to miss seeing you at the big table with your little notebook and homework working on AP Lit or another story. You are passionate about what you do and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish in the future.

To Erin, words cannot describe how grateful I am to have you in newspaper and in my life. I am going to miss our adventures during class and how you would help me design pages. Thank you for telling me if my page was boring or looked dumb. Thank you for going on big interviews with me and for being a team with me.Thank you for all the lunch talks we had and for always editing my story. I have loved being next to you and will miss you so much next year. 

To Hayley, Maggie and Camryn, thank you for a great year at the Green Pride. You guys are great editors and do so much for us. From all the late night work days to editing pages and stories, you guys do it all. I know this year was tough with advertisements and deadlines, so thank you for working hard and helping all of us along the way. 

To Sullivan, thank you for all your help with Photoshop and InDesign. I don’t know what I would do without you. My pages would have been a lot worse, that’s for sure. Thank you for being a mentor and for helping us write about the stories we wanted/needed to write about. 

Well, that’s it. Words cannot express how much I have loved being on staff here. Thank you for all the memories and newspaper parties with Sully’s famous queso and Harp’s donuts. I truly will miss being with you guys and being able to write about DHS. Thank you so much and don’t forget why you are a journalist. 

Best wishes,

Lauren Stanton, Arts/Entertainment Editor (for the last time)