As my graduation nears and my time as Editor-in-Chief runs its course, I can’t help but feel thankful yet terrified that this phase in my life is nearly complete. Since my time here at JTAC News began four years ago as a sports writer, I would have never pictured myself where I am now. It was never in my plan to become an editor or even pursue writing in general. When it came to working here at the JTAC, at most, I had planned to almost stay as far away from news as possible, at most I said I would try and be Sports Editor and maybe that’s it. But I truly know and understand that the plans we often make for ourselves hardly manifest the way we want them to.

When I first came to visit Tarleton during my senior year of high school way back in the fall of 2011 (yes I know that seems so far away), I almost immediately fell in love with the campus, the people and the atmosphere. Once I decided that this was the place I wanted to call home, I had plenty of people asking me the same questions like, “Are you sure you want to go that far?” “Why are you going there, you don’t even know anyone?” And honestly, I didn’t have an exact reason why I wanted to come here, it was just something I couldn’t put my finger on, I just knew I wanted to be here.

So, once I moved in in the fall of 2012, I pretty much had a couple of ideas of what I maybe wanted to do major wise.
I wanted to study to become a doctor and if I didn’t like it, I would study to become a teacher. Needless to say, I did not continue to study towards becoming a doctor once I went through my first semester of science classes.

I was pretty lost and had no idea what I wanted to do. That is, until one day during my spring semester of my freshman year, I was sitting in the Student Center talking with some friends and I saw an edition of the JTAC on a rack and picked it up and started to read it.

At the time, I didn’t even know we had a newspaper. As I flipped through, I saw an ad saying, “Sports Writer Needed,” and I thought to myself, “Well I love sports and I love to talk about it, so why not give it a shot and make a couple bucks doing so?” So I went down to the Student Publications Office and filled out an application, get interviewed and hired.

I remember being incredibly nervous writing my first game recap thinking it sucked and that I would probably get fired once they read what I submitted. Well, apparently it didn’t suck because I’m still here, and not to seem to cliché, but once I got into the groove of things as a sports writer and attending games and interviewing players and coaches, everything began to fall into place. I found my passion and found a way to get paid for it.

I then changed my major to communications and the rest is history as the kids say, except it wasn’t.

My plans to just strive to be a sports editor and nothing more were crushed when someone suggested I apply for Managing Editor. I thought to myself that this must be a mistake, you don’t want me to do this. But this was the moment when I began to want more for myself. In life in general, my plans were to great at whatever I do, but stay out of the way while I do it. This made me want to seize and embrace opportunity whenever it knocks.

Fast-forward to today when I am writing my final editorial as Editor-in- Chief, mesmerized with the person I am today. Sure I made a few mistakes along the way (still sorry for misspelling your name Dr. D), but through those mistakes, it helped me shape who I am today.

Working for Student Publications and seeing how it has grown in just the time that I have been here has been nothing short of amazing. We went from being huddled up in the dark room making everyone in the office be quiet because we were recording, to having an entire Creative Services team that does all of that separate of JTAC and Grassburr. This has been an invaluable experience that I would never trade for the world.

Thank you Tarleton for helping me realize that I can be great.