As the end of my time on the staff of The Gannon Knight quickly approaches, I have no way to describe how I am feeling other than emo.
I know I frequently overuse and misuse the term, but there’s no other way to explain how sad yet happy, depressed yet optimistic and disoriented yet composed I feel.
Emo, emotional, “in my bag,” out of my mind — whatever you want to call it. I just know I’m feeling all the feelings.
The reason for this range of reaction is due in part to my sentimental ties to The Knight.
Since my first few weeks as a freshman at Gannon, The Knight has always been a part of my involvement at this university.
It was the first thing I signed up for at the Activities Fair and the first extracurricular that I committed to.
Thanks in part to the wonderful Stacey Hetrick, who introduced me to the world of journalism through my high school newspaper, I found comfort in signing up for something that I knew how to do.
However, after writing multiple news stories during my first semester freshman year, I was quickly thrown out of my comfort zone when asked to fill in for the spring as the Arts and Leisure section editor.
Frankly, I don’t think I knew a whole lot about arts or leisure, and still maybe don’t, but I knew myself enough to know that this was something I could do.
So, I threw myself into the lion’s den of The Knight office, timid and shy, without a clue what was going on but surviving each issue with a “fake it till you make it” attitude.
Thanks to two older women on staff I eventually broke out of my shell, going from the girl on staff who didn’t talk to the one that now everyone wishes would stop.
Somewhere along my journey with The Knight I took up photojournalism, which was something that I never intended to pursue.
An attempt to gain free concert tickets resulted in me finding a passion for concert photography.
In my time on staff, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph some of my favorite artists and some of the biggest musicians in the industry.
This stumbled-upon interest into photography is something that I intend to carry with me into my future, and I hope to be able to photograph or write for a publication in Philadelphia next year.
For the past three years I’ve been collecting writers, assigning stories, writing articles and designing layouts to create this student newspaper that I am so proud of.
I’ve had the opportunity to interview a number of interesting people, including a Holocaust survivor, gain recognition through journalism awards even at the state level, and photograph famous stars like Wiz Khalifa.
I’ve learned how to work with others, how to address difficult subjects and how to use my voice to tell important stories.
I’ve grown as a writer, a photographer, a student and as a person, making friendships along the way with my fellow editors and writers that I’ll remember forever.
The Gannon Knight is a part of me — it’s a symbol of what I made of my time at Gannon and the lasting impression that I want to leave behind.
I’m incredibly grateful for this publication and everything it has given me in terms of life experiences, personal growth and friendship.
I don’t know how to feel about this transition from staff member to avid reader, but I do know for certain that Tuesday nights will be a lot more boring from here on out.
OLIVIA BURGER
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