For the majority of my life, I’ve been the sole audience of an unwatched show. A friend once described me as being a spectator of sorts, passive and carefully watching for things to unfold but never being a part of anything.
As silly as it sounds, I’ve always wanted to be more involved in my own life. Despite this, making that first jump has always been a hard task. I believed that coming into college, things would be different. I envisioned the perfect group of friends, the balance between academics and social life and a place that I could find my fit. Instead, college presented to me a plate of opportunities, many that was turned down because I was frightened by the thought of doing something new. Every new semester, I promised myself that I would be more involved and expand my boundaries. It is now my last semester here and it feels as if I am still waiting for that change to happen.
I’ve met a bunch of people in college, but if I’m going to be honest with myself, in a year from now, only a handful of them will ask me for occasional hangouts or even remember me.
Somewhere along these four years, I realize that college is really what you make of it. Being passive and waiting for things to happen did not help contribute to the college experience. If anything, my college experience can be best described as being “OK.” However, if someone were to ask me what I had done in college or the highlight of my four years here, I would tell them that I was a part of my college paper, Pipe Dream.
I joined Pipe Dream during the fall semester of my sophomore year. My first impressions were that the office was crowded and the people were intimidating. There was always the thought that I would not return, but I continued to go to the productions every week. In a sense, it was my method of trying to be involved and do something meaningful. Unlike many of the staff, I had no interest in pursuing a career in journalism or writing, rather I just wanted a place that felt welcoming.
What shined in particular about Pipe Dream were the people that I met during my stay. During the course of my three years in Pipe Dream, I’ve met some of the brightest and friendliest people in this office. Not only did they make me feel welcome, they also made me feel proud and comfortable to stay in this office. For that, I just wanted everyone I’ve met here to know that I’m thankful.
Rohit, I’m grateful for meeting you in college. You are one of my best friends and without you, I would not be writing this piece right now. I hope you never change and continue telling bad jokes and puns.
Noah, I believe that you have grown to show incredible leadership and did an amazing job leading Pipe Dream and tackling its issues. You should be more confident in your abilities because you have done a great job here.
Michelle, thank you for putting up with me and doing the hardest part of my job for me. I really don’t think that I would have found another replacement.
To the ladies of the Arts section, thank you for your positivity and food. Georgia, if you’re wondering who ate the granola bars, it was probably me.
Emily, Bridget, and Shauna, you three will do an amazing job leading Pipe Dream next year. I can’t wait to see how the paper will turn out!
And lastly, I want to thank Pipe Dream for bringing everyone together. People may not always agree with one another, but everyone in this office has a passion for the paper. It was beautiful to see a diverse group of people working together to accomplish a common goal.
Henry Zheng is the newsroom technology manager. He was the assistant newsroom technology manager from 2015-16.