It’s hard to believe that three years ago I wrote my first story for the arts and culture section of The Daily Iowan: a cover of the Stanley Museum of Art’s grand opening. When I look back, there’s so much I could tell the version of myself who wrote that story, so much to help her along and make that experience go much smoother — but I wouldn’t.

The most beautiful thing about growth is often mistaken as the ugliest. It’s the messy failures and missteps that lead us to the best versions of ourselves who know better. In my case, it was a flustered series of interview questions and run-on sentences that got a little too narrative that helped me discover the voice I write in today.

When I look back on how far I’ve come, both in life and at the DI, I’m filled with pride. I began working in the newsroom because I wanted to get paid for doing what I’ve always loved: writing. I had no prior experience in journalism, and before that job interview, I had insisted I would never pursue a career in it because I was worried it would ruin my passion for creative writing.

Safe to say, it hasn’t.

If anything, working at the DI has enhanced my appreciation for all types of writing and art. I never feel more embedded within the Iowa City community than when I am attending a gallery for a local artist, covering a multicultural event, asking professors at the University of Iowa about their iconic outfit choices, or offering my opinion on the hottest new TV shows.

Thanks to my time here, I’ve learned more about what kind of future I want for myself after I graduate — one I am truly excited for. It has also been comforting to feel so grounded in my work no matter how my life has changed around me.

It’s painfully ironic that my last year at the UI and this newspaper has been by far my favorite — and it went by way too fast. My coworkers became my good friends whom I consistently admire for their amazing personalities and work ethic. My nights in and out of  the newsroom have been filled with more peace and laughter than ever before.

As a shy, second-year reporter pitching stories in the rotunda, I never could have guessed I would graduate as a managing editor. The amount of responsibility I took on was terrifying at first. The last thing I wanted to do was let anyone down — most of all myself. But it turned out to be as easy as looking over our newsroom desk and just having enough courage to ask my fellow editors for a little help.

It goes to show I never would have made it here without falling along the way, and there’s a lot of people I owe my thanks to for picking me up.

Along with my fellow editors at the DI, I want to recognize my parents, whose unwavering faith in me when I struggled to believe in my ability to do it all has been truly inspiring. And to all the girls I met on the sixth floor of Rienow freshman year who are still my closest friends, along with the multiverse of incredible people they introduced me to: You are everything.

All this to say, take it from me, whose own worst enemy is her perfectionism: You don’t need to know everything right away to be successful. In fact, it’s better if you know nothing because it’s more fun to figure it out as you grow, even if that means making a thousand mistakes. I know it’s cheesy, but trust me, it just makes you a thousand times
more beautiful.