By Sierra Bein
Well, here I am, writing the last words that I will ever write for The Eyeopener.
This year (as every year tends to be) has been a wild one. I consider myself lucky, because my job for the past five years has been to document all the craziness. And reporting on you Ryersonians never fails to keep me entertained.
Before me, many goodbyes have been said, lessons have been passed on and people just generally spill their hearts out—so I took a little inspiration from each. I didn’t really think about what my last words here should be, but I think an appropriate way to end things off would be to talk about you, our reader.
I’m not sure how you found us, but you did. Apparently you liked us enough to come back and read this article and I’m really happy you did! Seriously. Please don’t stop reading yet, I have some meaningful things to say if you keep going.
I felt like I had no idea what I was doing after graduation. You’ll probably get there, if you haven’t already. But fortunately for me, I had you guys to help me figure it out. Reporting on all your triumphs, shenanigans and inevitable failures has changed me. For better or for worse.
So before I bid you all adieu, I just want to tell you about a couple important things that you have taught me as I’ve reported on campus.
The first thing I learned is that no one actually knows what they’re doing. I mean that in the best way possible. We are all a collection of mistakes that have grown into something beautiful. If you aren’t fucking up once in a while, you aren’t doing it right. In turn, this means three things: grown ups aren’t always right, you don’t have to always be perfect, and that embarrassing moment from five years ago that you still think about? It’s ok, no one remembers. They won’t remember the things you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.
Another lesson is that you don’t always have to care about what people think. People are going to talk shit about you, and fuck them. There’s a lot of things that aren’t worth your time in life, but other human’s emotions aren’t one of them. There’s a fine line between being badass and just being an ass.
Things fall into place. I don’t know why. But they just do. You will find your way.
You always have more power than you think, so don’t accept bullshit quietly. Be a mover and a shaker. Be loud, speak your mind. Your singular voice makes a difference and there are a lot of things left at this university that need to change. And hey, maybe The Eye can help you with that along the way. That’s why we exist.
The last thing you taught me is that school is overrated. Don’t get this twisted. Education is important and you should not skip class (too much). I just mean that some of the most valuable experiences in this institution might not happen in the classroom.
I have no proper way to sum up my year as editor-in-chief, or my years at Ryerson. I guess I should say thank you though, because I needed you to give me this kick in the pants.
You guys are going to do sick things. I’ve already seen some of you in action and I’m excited to see more. As for me, I still have no clue what I’m doing but it’s fine, neither does anyone else.
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