Well, I suppose this is it. I’ve been debating for a while now if I want to write one of these and where I’d go with it if I did. So, we’ll just let ’er fly for a bit and decide if it’s worth publishing at the end.

First, thanks to everyone who helped me along the ride for the past four years. I’m not going to mention everyone — after all, I’m only graduating college and the DI, not winning a Nobel Prize. I don’t think naming names the majority of the audience doesn’t know is beneficial. So, as much as I hate when people say, “You know who you are,” well, you know who you are. Sorry.

A better use of this space is to share some of my favorite experiences at this great institution. I’ll remember the laughs in and out of the newsroom. Whether it was arriving inappropriately early for Sunday meetings as a freshman and listening to the senior sports staffers zing hilariously jaded one-liners back and forth or the festivities of a random Friday at a downtown bar (and later my house), some of the funniest people I’ll ever meet have come from this place, and it’s something I’ll really, really miss.

I’ll miss the trips across the Midwest, as well as other areas of the country I would have never seen. These adventures — whether it was six guys splitting two double beds and limited floor space in Indianapolis or playing Uno in a run-down Oklahoma City hotel — were something I wouldn’t have had the chance to do without the DI, and for that, I’m grateful.

I got to see the bowels of some of my favorite stadiums across the country and deal with good people and not-so-good people along the way. If nothing else, working here taught me how to navigate a plethora of situations. I’ve watched Kirk Ferentz cry, Tom and Terry Brands show a type of awesome emotion I didn’t think humans were capable of, and watch poor leadership cripple a program I really care about.

Experiencing the ups and downs that go along with this job has shaped me into who I am today. It hasn’t always been fun or easy, but I’m better because of it, and I hope you think so, too. Thank you, reader, for being honest with me and teaching me how this crazy world of ours works.

I’ll leave you with a piece of advice (and yes, I obviously decided to publish this): College is a time where you can literally do whatever you please. Make the best of it, and don’t be a [jerk]. Take advantages of the things this university has to offer, and enjoy everything this great town can do for you. Words can’t do justice about how much I’m going to miss the hell out of this place and this city, so I don’t see a point in trying much more.

Thank you guys, again. It’s been fun.