I started writing for the Chronicle late in my college career, only giving myself around a year to write. Still, this last year has been absolutely phenomenal and the closest I’ve felt to the University of Utah my whole life. Growing up here in Salt Lake, the U always loomed over me. I would spend time in high school at the Union bowling or playing table tennis with my friends, walking around campus feeling like a fish out of water. Actually attending the U, my feelings didn’t change that much. I didn’t feel like someone who had a place on campus, not that I particularly minded at that point. I just felt no connection to my school outside of the fact I was attending classes there. This continued up until part way through my junior year when I joined the Arts Desk at the behest of one of my best friends who used to write for it. I haven’t looked back since.
I’ve been forced to put myself out there so much since joining the Chronicle, something that was always incredibly difficult for me to do in the past. I have been to many events by myself and interviewed people, something I could never have pictured myself doing. Of course, I didn’t particularly enjoy the interview part, but going to things by myself felt so natural. I’ve seen a few concerts alone and always had a good time, even meeting some people and striking up conversations, only to never see or hear from them again.
Honestly, my favorite pieces to write were the ones in which I could talk about my various loves. Having the opportunity to interview an employee from Game Night Games, somewhere I have been going my whole life was huge for me. Since writing that article, I have spread my wild oats, and am now known at quite a few game stores in the area, even writing blog posts for one of them! It was also always a joy to get to talk about the music I’ve been listening to in hopes to get even one more person to listen to them, which I can’t say has ever happened but it makes my friends happy when I say “Guess what? I got to talk about Boris in my article again!” Obtaining a Bachelor of Science in English also helped for my writing. My degree specializes in video games, something else my friends get incredibly happy about when they hear what I’ve written. I would always tell my family, “Yeah I wrote another article about Silent Hill” and they could see the joy in my face. The Chronicle allowed me to indulge in these silly articles, which were always met with an “I love that idea” from our lovely desk editors.
Maybe after I graduate, I will feel more warmth towards the university as a whole than I do now. But I know for sure the thing I will miss the most is writing for the Chronicle. It has been so nice to see my fellow writers’ names on articles and then run into them, finally putting a face to their work. I’ve met some absolutely lovely people here and will look back on my time at the Chrony with only the fondest of memories. Thanks for indulging me for so long everyone, and I’ll see you around.
