Farewell Column: We were all made to leave

It is slowly starting to hit me that it is all coming to an end.

I have one more year left at UNC and I want to spend it with my friends, laughing, dreaming, focusing on personal projects and most importantly — living a life outside of The Daily Tar Heel office. 

Two years in the grand scheme of things is not a lot, but when it comes to college, that is half of your academic career. Two years behind these brick walls. They hold laughter, tears and so many words.

Sitting in our penultimate staff meeting, it is slowly starting to hit me (sorry, Emmy). 

I won’t be the DTH design editor next year. I will just be Olivia. Someone who has a passion for graphic design but doesn’t know if she wants to make a career out of it. Someone who has passed the torch into unbelievably capable hands. Someone who has made the Design desk her own, and hopefully has done it well.

Before The DTH, I struggled with finding a community. I had my friends, but I was unsatisfied. I didn’t know what I wanted or who I wanted to be. 

Joining the newsroom has been an eye-opening experience. I got to meet people with a passion for something outside themselves, a need to serve and a love for the same things as me. I have found a family here. I have found myself.

Being a journalist isn’t easy. Some might say I’m not a journalist, but, let me tell you, editorial design is a very specific niche. I have been struggling with the idea that I won’t ever have to explain what P-9 is or how to use the pen tool on Illustrator again, but my journalist days are over.

When someone asks me why I love my job, my answer is always the people. If I could bottle up a moment and keep it with me, it would be the newsroom on print nights. In these hours filled with giggles and jokes that could definitely get us in trouble, I have experienced some of the happiest moments of my life here.

Without Emma Geis, I would have never found the courage to leave, or a better friend to confide in when the days got tough. Without Kennedy Cox, I would have never experienced having a twin flame, someone who loves me just as much as I love her. And bless Caroline Wills for telling me to apply to The DTH in the first place, she is a star and everyone should know her.

I truly would not have made it without my Copy girls, our dinner runs at the most inconvenient times and them teaching me all I need to know about AP Style and headlines. Carson Elm-Picard taught me a lot as my editor, but the ability to work alongside him and be given some of the best design advice only made my work better.

Hailey Patterson taught me what it is to be a good leader. I could not have asked for a better right hand during my time as design editor. Her knowledge is expansive and she is genuinely one of the smartest people I have ever met. I am proud to call her my friend.

Everyone in the DTH office has taught me something. I barely knew how to get to the office before I was an editor, and now walking in feels like home.

Saying goodbye will always be the hardest part. Goodbye to the dirty carpets, crusty couches and water-damaged ceiling tiles. Goodbye to Spicy 9 sailboats, Slackbot spams and late-night design mishaps. I will never make another A1 graphic again, and that is definitely bittersweet. 

As much as I complained, I would never trade my time at The DTH. I learned more than I ever have and met some of the most wonderful people.

This goodbye will not be filled with empty promises. We will all talk again, laugh again and definitely share a drink again, but we will never bicker over print themes or giggle during budget meetings.

Thirty-seven editors who made their mark on a newsroom that, I hope, will continue to thrive. Our love is all over and we were all made to be there.

And we were all made to leave.

I have one year left at this University. I will not be doing Lifetime Fitness yoga in the supply closet or holding design meetings at the back circle table. I will not prioritize printing news and raising hell over class assignments and getting sleep. 

I will be Olivia, someone who was once The Daily Tar Heel design editor.

And maybe one day my dream of being platformed as The DTH “Weekend Update” will happen. Kennedy and I are waiting.

@goodsonolivia_

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com