A farewell at that

A+farewell+at+that

A farewell at that

By Noah Kelly

have waited for this moment for a while now, and the time has finally come. It’s time to say farewell to Columbia. I thought I would have used this moment to express all the dissatisfaction and anger I harbored toward this school—you know, let it be heard once and for all how terrible I think this college is—but as I write this goodbye, I’ve come to realize how lucky I am to have experienced such a strange yet wonderful place. 

For those of you who don’t know me—which is probably most of you reading this—I was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. To emphasize how different Chicago is from where I grew up, just know that I only saw snow three times until the age of 18. I remember watching my dad drive away after he dropped me off at the former 2 E. 8th St. dorms—now known as 777 S. State St.—and the sudden rush of fear I had never experienced in my life as I stood there alone at the corner of State and 8th. 

The person left standing at that corner would go from being a theatre major to advertising to film over the next three years. He would go on to spend almost all his life savings on a study abroad trip to South Australia and even become part of the management team at The Columbia Chronicle.

It’s true that there were a lot of “tough” days at Columbia to say the least. I’ve gone through heartbreak, depression, confusion, anger—you name it. But this is the place where I found myself and met some of the most incredible people in my life. To those I’ve grown with here and who have become my life-long friends—Joe Shelleh, Westin Faulkner, Will Goodman, Rishi Malyvia, Charlie Connelly and everyone else, you know who you are—I thank you for helping me find me. I don’t know where I would be without you guys. 

To my family at The Chronicle, thank you for helping me realize how special this place actually is and for giving me a sense of family. I couldn’t thank all of you enough for trusting me and sharing the times we had together.

Chris Richert, The Chronicle’s general manager, has been like a father to me. I have been able to go to him when I was most scared and the times when I just wanted something to brag about, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

My advice to those who will continue on after this semester: Realize how lucky you are to be in such a unique environment. I understand how easy it is to hate this college, trust me. But don’t let one bad day determine your experience here. Columbia will challenge you to be your best. If you don’t think this is the place for you, that’s OK because this isn’t your average school.

 If you are going to stay here, though, find what makes you happy and don’t hold back. Be weird. Be new. Be adventurous. There are limitless possibilities at this school, and there are such incredible people. If you spend your time lamenting what you didn’t like, you will look back when it’s too late and realize how much you missed.

We are all those weird art school kids who didn’t want to go to some state school like everyone else. We are the kids who believed in our dreams and set out to achieve them. Columbia is what we make it, so enjoy this weird, twisted and amazing school for what it is. 

On that note, it’s time for me to say farewell to Columbia. Cue “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure as the screen fades to black.