Hello Big Sandy, I am back from my first semester of college. Realistically, I could have decided never to have left the paper, but I thought it would have been best to leave it up to the other writers of this town to take their stab at it. I also thought I wouldn't have the time to get articles out through my schedule, but let me tell you, being a journalism major in their first college semester gives you all the time in the world. My courses were reasonably simple, courses such as contemporary mathematics and billiards: side note, do not bet on a game of billiards with me, or better yet do. I did not have to work a single job since I saved my money from working as a lifeguard and from graduation, which was very difficult to do as I was tempted to go out and spend all of my savings. And I got to meet some fantastic people. This included people such as my roommates, Matthew Groshong, and Lukas Prinos. Matt is from Portland, and Lukas is from Kirkland, which for people that don't know it is Seattle. Since we are relatively close, considering the areas we grew up in, we all got along pretty frictionlessly from the start. The most enjoyable thing we all did together during the semester was taking a day trip to Glacier Park. There probably would have been a lot more exciting things we would've done, but the typical "complications" got in the way. But we made the most of what we were able to do. It also included a fantastic girl named Stephanie May. My advice to anyone who cares to hear it is to find someone like Stephie. Find someone that will push you to be a better version of yourself while also having tons of fun along the way. Fun fact: I met a girl from London, England that came to the states to go to Missoula, Montana, for college. So yeah, choosing a college in your state might feel like a given, mundane decision, but remember, what you have here is exceptional.
The point to all of this is kids, become a journalism major. You will not have to do too much of anything your first semester, which will allow you to do more than I did since, by the time you are in your first semester, we will not be in a global pandemic. I do not know how the second semester will go, but half a year of little stress is more than no time at all:)Plus, at the end of the day, you will get paid for typing at the simplest form of the concept on a computer. So to all of the kids in Big Sandy who enjoy writing, keep working hard because the world is always in need of new perspectives and opinions. For the record, I am being facetious about being a journalist for the purpose of entertaining content. The truth is that a journalist's position is a respected position that takes a lot of dedication to be one of the best in. And what I want to accomplish from writing in the Mountaineer is to inspire this town's youth to use their voice in positive and constructive ways. If I can do that, I will have done my job.
I am back, and I am here to stay as long as I am needed.
