There’s no literary quote I can steal to sum up how I feel about college now that it’s at the end. No famous poet has ever worked at The Chronicle—let’s just say that.

Our office was much more colorful than most. Perhaps the better word is “crude.” A little thing called “decency standards” were implemented a semester after I started, if that gives any inkling of how the managers tried to curb this manifestation of poor behavior. But it was, unapologetically, the most entertaining time of my life.

I’ll never forget my first week when someone said, “These are going to become some of the best friends you’ll ever have.” That couldn’t have been truer. When outside friends wrote me notes begging me to come home and hang out, all I wanted to do was stay at The Chronicle with the people I adored until the security guards literally kicked us out.

My other friends didn’t understand what it meant to get something published for the first time, to finally get an article on the front page or to win an award at the Illinois College Press Association. Those are life achievements that are best acknowledged by your co-workers because they, above anyone else, understand what it means.

And for that, I must properly thank all of those people who have helped me love journalism even more than I can even understand while working here (in no particular order).

Hunter: Not only were you my first friend on staff, the most inspiring and hilarious writer of all time, but I honestly admired everything you wrote and did for The Chronicle in my first year. I was a scared copy editor, and you pushed me to write articles and even take one of your own! You made me, without a doubt, who I am today as a journalist. I can’t thank you enough for always inspiring me to get the most quirky ideas and not failing me even when I fell through. Thanks, Hunt.

Chris: I would get you one of those “Best Boss in the World” mugs, but honestly that doesn’t even express how I feel about you as a person. You are my friend, my co-worker, my therapist and my boss, all wrapped into one. Thanks for bearing with me even through my flaky times. I never felt scared to tell you anything and just having your door open behind me was one of the best feelings in the world. P.S.: Thanks for helping me get that amazing internship!

Josh: You single-handedly inspired me to become a better writer just for the sheer possibility of impressing you. You are always honest with me and still laugh at my dumb jokes today. Thanks for every week dealing with me asking, “What should I write my column on?” and giving me hugs when my future didn’t pan out the way I thought. I absolutely cannot wait to go to New York with you, and I know you’ll flourish there. I’m so incredibly thankful I met you.

Amanda: It’s funny to think a year ago we barely even spoke once, but now you’ve heard probably, um, way too much information about me. Thanks for putting up with my horrible Mariah Carey renditions and being there even when I’m all snot-faced and crying. You’re going to do great things at the Tribune, no doubt about it, and thanks for the insurmountable support you have given me. We truly were the definition of a team.

Jim and Billy: Never before have two people made me laugh so incredibly hard. Jim, I’m not even kidding when I say I was literally in tears laughing because of that one time you called me in your office. And Billy, who unfortunately always has to overhear my disgusting conversations but never fails to put his 2 cents in, I wish I could tell you how much you meant to me.

To everyone at The Chronicle: Regardless of what I may have said or done, I honestly, wholeheartedly believe in every one of you. I wish I could have told all of you that more often, but thanks so much for never failing to make me smile and restore my faith in journalists. I challenge all of you to keep in touch with me even though I don’t have a Facebook, and just know that I adore every single one of you.