An open letter to The Green Pride staff – Part 1

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Sydney Hoover

Me, posing with our beloved Gary Lezak at 3&2 baseball fields. The Green Pride staff has deemed ourselves Leak’s biggest fans – in all honesty, it’s just another inside joke,

Dear Green Pride Staff,

 

Well, here we are. My last web story ever. It finally hit me today that in less than a month, my time as a staff member of The Green Pride will be over. After writing over 50 stories for our website and publishing 24 issues in three volumes of the newspaper, I am on my final web story and my issue of the newspaper.

While newspaper has easily been my favorite part of high school, it wasn’t always something I enjoyed – in fact, I almost didn’t join at all. It took a lot of convincing from my parents and Emma to join staff my sophomore year. I had never written journalistically before and just the thought of going out to do interviews was painful to my awkward 15-year-old self. The first few weeks on staff was a struggle for me, as well: my first two stories I ever wrote for newspaper were about the girls’ tennis season and our new principal (Mr. Mortenson). I knew nothing about tennis, and the principal of DHS isn’t exactly an easy first interview. Needless to say, my stories came back covered in ink (yes, I know how that feels). Somedays, I dreaded coming to newspaper first semester of my sophomore year.

My confidence was boosted when I saw that a picture I took of Mr. Mortenson doing the ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’ was our cover photo my first issue on staff, and, following that, I started to pick up on journalistic writing more and doing interviews became a lot easier with the help of Emma and Aneka. By second semester that year, I was promoted to an Arts Editor.

Looking back, I am so glad I joined and stuck with newspaper. It has provided me with so many amazing opportunities, from photographing and interviewing guest speakers to sitting on the sideline at football games to getting out of school a few times a year to hang out in Lawrence for KSPA conferences and competitions.

Most importantly, though, I have met some of my best friends from being on the newspaper staff. My favorite part of my white days has always been coming to newspaper because I know that even if I’m having the most horrible day ever, someone in newspaper is bound to make me feel better. You all are some of the funniest, wittiest and kindest people I have met at DHS. I can always count on you guys to play the weirdest YouTube videos in class, blow my phone up with rants about Netflix series and Gary Lezak in the GroupMe, find the best and most random Buzzfeed personality quizzes and keep me up to date on the most ‘in’ memes of the week.

I can’t even begin to tell you all how much I am going to miss all our crazy classes, our Christmas parties, the Quote Pumpkin, and everything else that makes newspaper totally unique from any other club at DHS. However, I am especially going to miss you all. Whether you have been in newspaper with me from the start or just joined this year, you all have become some of my best friends and I am never going to forget all the amazing memories I have made with you guys.

Take advantage of the time you have left on staff, because it ends faster than you think. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true. It seems like just yesterday I was begging Emma to come help me interview Mr. Mortenson for that first story, and now I’m concluding my last one. You will never find a group of people better than the newspaper staff, so appreciate them while you have time.

Thank you all for being apart of this amazing high school experience.

 

Love,

Sydney (Mom)