A pandemic wasn’t how I imagined closing out my senior year at SDSU.

Finishing college at 20 years old in two years can be pretty daunting. My dual enrollment high school, Academy of the Canyons, put me ahead of the curve by taking high school and college at the same time. So while I wasn’t at SDSU very long, I know I made a lasting impact.

The Daily Aztec was the keystone to all of that.

When I had initially joined in 2018, it was because the current Editor in Chief, Bella Ross, came to my journalism class and asked people to sign up. I initially wanted to go into the multimedia section, but she convinced me to join news — considering I’m the news editor now, I’m sure you can guess what happened.

I’ve learned the value of telling people’s stories and giving a platform to those who may not have it. Reporting makes a difference and keeps institutions transparent. People also might not like you all the time, but you’re doing important work and that’s what matters.

I’ve been able to gain so much experience as a journalist through the paper, but I’ve also gained many friends. I’ve been able to listen to stories that I might’ve not otherwise heard before. The multiple Tuesday nights that would be spent at production were some of the best nights of my college career (even if they were stressful at times), but I loved everything.

Special shoutout to Em Burgess and Brenden Tuccinardi for our many Tuesday nights after production that were dedicated to eating fast food and having deep conversations in parking lots. Honestly, my senior year wouldn’t have been the same without you guys.

Thank you to Bella Ross and David Santillan for being fantastic editors during my first year at the paper and giving me the confidence to continue to write and pursue stories.

Thank you to my parents who have supported me throughout college and answered my continuous phone calls even if it’s something as exciting as me getting chicken nuggets for lunch or having no idea how to fix my car.

Thank you to all of my siblings — Harrison, Priscilla and Amelia — for being my best friends. I love our random facetime calls and our midnight In-N-Out trips while we scream to Lizzo songs.

Thank you Aj for being my constant and just a text message away.

Thank you to Kristin and Manny for constantly supporting me, including throwing me a Zoom birthday party during quarantine. I’m looking forward to another Pei Wei trip.

Thank you Caitlin for being my best friend since 7th grade, we need to see a movie and get Coldstone asap.

There are so many more people that I could thank for supporting me over the years, this wouldn’t have been possible without you.

I’m really excited for the future, but it’s also bittersweet to leave behind this wonderful paper. However, I know it’s in good hands.

Now to close, I’ll use the same quote I’ve lived by since high school:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

See you around, San Diego.