I have big shoes to fill. 

As I reflect on that statement, I question its application into my reality. That expression implies that you are able to grow into them. Now, standing as a senior in high school I’m not sure there is much more growing I am able to do. 

Although it would be an honor to walk on the soles of the leaders who came before me, they do not seem to fit.

I first walked into the Journalism room as an intimidated freshman, eager to put my head down and get to writing. I did not expect to find the closest friends and most unique opportunities through those doors. It was the first place I truly felt heard and empowered by the students around me. The previous Editor-in-Chiefs instilled the confidence in me to write stories I never considered, and to constantly dig for deeper meanings. As a staff, we debated real issues, both within the school and the country as a whole. Only by making N123 a comfortable environment was that kind of discussion possible.

Due to the novel quarter system, our usual newspaper staff will not meet until next semester, making our window for connection even slimmer. 

Last year was, like for all classes and organizations, unrecognizable from the year before. The previous Editor in Chiefs, Maddy Lewis and Anna Henning, were able to make it the same comfortable and creative place that we thought we would have lost. Of course, the computer screens and face coverings made things harder, but nevertheless, our paper’s staff continued to connect.

Now, it is up to me, and the incredible Melissa May, to make the newsroom our own. As much as I want to hang on to how it was before, I know that I cannot. We have the power, and honor, to make it something new.

That is what I love most about the news. Each day, stories are contributed to the world, only for new ones to come and replace them the next day. As I reflect on my role as Editor in Chief, I realize that there is nothing constant in the newsroom, other than change, including leadership.

Those great writers that I had the honor of being taught by’s names in the newsroom are now met with a “who is that” by the new staff members, and a brief summary of their impact on the paper by those who remember.

In my time as Editor in Chief, I hope to establish my name as one that future students will ask “who is that” in response to hearing. Only that will prove that Melissa and I have succeeded in maintaining the newsroom as an irreplaceable place of constant growth, conversation, and renewal.

My expectation for this year is not to simply complete a checklist, as there is never a chance for satisfaction in the newsroom. Instead, it is to add to the everchanging collage that our paper’s culture has created, and hopefully inspire the next generation of writers, all in the hope of being forgotten. 

This brings me back to the pair of shoes I’m so eager to fill. Instead of forcing my feet to fit these hypothetical shoes, I choose to get my own pair. I choose to start anew, building off of the legacies of those who taught me to forge a new path. Today, I lace up my boots to do just that.