When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, ‘What will I be?’” So goes the song Doris Day crooned in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much. The name of that song, “Que sera, sera,” became the name of my column when I was afforded space in the Arts & Culture section every other week as managing editor at The Chronicle.

The reason I chose “Que sera, sera” is that I truly believe, as the song says, “the future’s not ours to see.” In view of the undefined future, dear reader, this is my last column.

Instead of giving individual accolades, I thought I would make you a mixtape. I can’t embed songs in paper (yet), so an annotated list will have to do.

“New Soul” by Yael Naim: “But since I came here / Felt the joy and the fear / Finding myself making every possible mistake …” This is a song about, you guessed it, being new. While making mistakes isn’t the easiest way to learn, it’s certainly the most effective. This song is for anyone with uncharted territory to conquer (most of us).

“Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” by The Delfonics: “I’ve tried so many times and that’s no lie / It seems to make you laugh each time I cry / Didn’t I blow your mind this time, didn’t I …” Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you fail. That’s why being comfortable can be dangerous. Don’t say “my best work,” because you can always do better. Take a cue from yellow, round Pac Man: You have to be hungry enough to reach the next level.

“Once In A Lifetime” by Talking Heads: “And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile / And you may find yourself in a beautiful house / With a beautiful wife / And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’ …” Life is about discovering who you are, and discoveries are made by inquiry. A former adviser at The Chronicle used to tell us to keep a healthy dose of skepticism. Don’t assume answers—look into it. Sometimes the questions you forget to ask are where the story is.

“Make Someone Happy” by Jimmy Durante: “Fame, if you win it / Comes and goes in a minute / Where’s the real stuff in life to cling to? / Love is the answer / Someone to love is the answer …” This is so simple, and maybe I’m naive, but whether it’s loving a friend or a significant other, or maybe it’s loving what you do—where there’s love, there’s happiness.

“Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be)” by Doris Day: “The future’s not ours to see / Que sera, sera / What will be, will be …” You can’t ever know what’s down the road, though you may anticipate it and hope for it. Take the election last month. Many of us hoped for a person to bring stability to America, and when the results were announced, it was unbelievable—and amazing. We thought we knew how it would end, and many of us were proven wrong.

I know these songs don’t necessarily sound great together, but the point is what it says, not how it says it. If I made a supremely awesome mixtape for you guys, I would probably be the kind of person you see performing on stage at the Music Center for their final grade, or the kind of person who works at Reckless Records, or the kind of person who listens to music in the dark with their headphones on in their room. That’s not to say I could never be any of those people, though … you never know.

“Que sera, sera” begins by asking, “What will I be?” If you’re a freshman, you may have no idea. I was an undeclared major in 2004. It took a year at a women’s college in Missouri and another at community college in Gary, Ind., before I discovered what I wanted to be. I thought I was going to write, but it turns out, I’ve been editing and designing as my education has progressed. I’m picking up new skills every day. I have no idea what my final product will be. Que sera, sera.