Well, dang. This isn’t how it was supposed to end.
We were supposed to be dancing the night away at Media Ball and enjoying Spring Weekend festivities.
The sports team and other sections of The Rotunda were supposed to celebrate the winning of multiple Virginia Press Association awards.
I was supposed to go to D-Hall and savor the crispy Mr. Pibb and enjoy breakfast dates with our Social Media editor Taylor Jennings each and every morning.
Myself and TJ Wengert were supposed to get one more chance to tee it up at The Manor as college students.
I was supposed to get my thousandth bowl of Orange Chicken and Chow Mein at Panda Express, with real money, because my bonus dollars were long gone.
I was supposed to hear “Top of the afternoon” from Professor Jeff Halliday, or hear the influential words of Dr. Ryan Stouffer and “Dr. Awesome” Clint Wright, for the final time in an in-person classroom setting.
But, that isn’t happening, and I have come to grips with that. I am simply thankful to still be a healthy person (knocks on wood) and have a healthy family during these times of major uncertainty. I’ve tried my best to remember that others during this pandemic haven’t been as lucky, and while I miss being on campus, others around the world and even some in our backyards are now missing loved ones and will never be able to get them back.
We also won’t be able to get our time back at Longwood and The Rotunda, and that’s okay, we have Snapchat and Facebook memories for that. And don’t worry, those diplomas will be coming in the early part of summer to a mailbox near you. All it ended up being was an early start on that path into the next chapter.
I could probably write a full-featured book about my time with The Rotunda and all of the things it did for me personally and professionally. It was an opportunity that wouldn’t have happened without so many people constantly taking me under their wings and pushing me along.
Coming into college, I had no earthly idea on what I wanted to do with my life. That sort of changed in November of 2017 when I got into contact with the then-Editor-in-Chief Halle Parker who set me up to work on an article discussing the record setting career of former Longwood XC athlete Leon Beard Jr.
The article may have been terribly written and probably could’ve had so much more in it, but from that moment on, I was sold on the possibilities of this organization.
Three years later, through the highs and lows and assisted by the guidance of so many, I became an editor and even had the opportunity to serve as Pro-Tempore. But, at the end of the day, I was just another link in the chain that has been connected since 1920, and I hope and pray I made that positive mark.
