COLUMN: After graduation, don’t forget to explore new horizons
I’ve been muddling over what to write for my last column in The Utah Statesman. Unfortunately, not as many things came to mind as I would have liked.
In all of my time as a writer, the hardest part has always been waiting and searching for that brilliant idea. For reporters, sometimes the ideas come a little easier. Their stories are dictated by events, circumstances and public opinion of what’s important. As a columnist, I have to decide for myself what’s important, not only to me but for all my readers as well, and then, after I’ve figured out what, I have to figure out why and tell it in a compelling and convincing way.
I’ll admit, sometimes I have been more successful than others. I think back over all the columns I have written during these past two years, and it isn’t hard to pick out my successes, and it’s even easier to pick out my screw-ups, the times when I could have been clearer, better understood.
If I had to pick one overall goal for all my columns, a theme, it would be understanding. I have never been one to pick sides. I don’t draw too many lines in the sand. I am an explorer, determined to see both sides and find the middle ground on every issue.
I hope that’s what I’ve done, maybe not all the time, but most times. And I hope it made a difference, and I brought a few people along. I also hope that while we are out there gaining understanding, sitting on the fence and guarding the middle ground, we don’t get too comfortable and forget there is a time for action.
In January, Art Buchwald died. He was a Pulitzer Prize winner and a columnist for many years. Not too long before his passing, he decided to write his own obituary, which turned out to be almost a memoir, consisting of things he loved and things he’d missed. One thing he said was he wished he’d eaten more éclairs, said if he could do it again, he’d never pass one by without partaking.
I bring this up because I feel I’m in the same boat. While I am not dying, a critical point in my life is coming to an end. As I look back, I only have one regret. I wished I wouldn’t have let so many sweet opportunities pass me by.
USU is an extraordinary place. It is one of, if not the only place, where the idea of kissing someone on the A isn’t offensive or disgusting. It is a place where you can be whatever you want because there are so many “sweet” things available to you.
Of course, some of those sweet things don’t really look that good at the time they pass. It’s easy to decide to just let it go – because they are full of useless calories, not worth the work it would take and not worth the consequences of trying.
But, as a dying out columnist, here is my last will and testament to you fence sitters like me. While you are out there getting understanding, learning all you can, remember there is a time for action, and you can’t have one without the other.
“The time has come,” the walrus said, and I must say it too. Thank you to my readers, and to all of USU. It’s been great. Go Aggies!
Mikaylie Kartchner is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent t