By Cady Inabinett, Editor in chief 

It feels incredibly surreal to be writing my final letter from the editor. 

Very surreal, and very sad in a certain way. 

I feel like there’s a spectrum of attitudes one can have about graduating: you can be so incredibly ready to graduate and be done or you can feel terrified and not ready to go. Of course, there’s a lot of nuance here and you can feel both ways at once, but those seem to be the two major sentiments. 

I definitely fall into the latter camp. While I’m excited to see what the next stage of my life holds in store, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m standing on the edge of some cliff that I’m about to fall off of. I don’t feel quite ready to say goodbye to my life at Montevallo. 

One of the hardest things to say goodbye to is this newspaper. If you’ve been reading my column throughout the year or have met me in person, you’ll probably know that I love this paper and I love being its editor in chief. Working with The Alabamian has been the highlight of my time at Montevallo.  

While I love the work I do at The Alabamian, most of what has made my time with this paper so wonderful is the people I have met and worked with. So, as an attempt at saying goodbye, I wanted to dedicate this column to thanking the people who have made The Alabamian wonderful this year and in previous years. 

To Wesley: I couldn’t have been editor in chief without a dedicated managing editor, but you already know that. More importantly, I couldn’t have been editor in chief without you specifically in my life. You have been there for me through thick and thin this year, and I couldn’t be more thankful that it’s been you by my side. I hope I’ve been there for you this year even half as much as you’ve been there for me.  

To Lucy: A good copy editor is the glue that holds a newspaper together, and I was lucky enough to find a great copy editor in you. I was even luckier to find a great friend in you, too. The landscape of this entire year would have looked different for me if it weren’t for having a new friend like you in my life. Thank you for being around to laugh, rant and go get El Agave with this year. 

To Sam: I would not be telling you anything you don’t already know by saying that you are an indispensable member of The Alabamian’s editorial staff as our business manager. But you should also know that you aren’t just important because you can balance a budget, but because of your great attitude, too. Your smile can light up a room, you can make everyone around you laugh and your positivity can put anyone in a good mood. Never stop being you, Sam! 

To M.K., Ashlee and Sarah: As section editors for The Alabamian, you’ve brought dedication, skill and plenty of excellent writing to our staff. But you’ve each brought a wealth of personality to The Alabamian as well, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you this year. I know the future is bright for each of you, and I can’t wait to see what each of you will do next. 

To Maeghan, Kylie, Britton and Layrssa: The Alabamian literally could not exist without you guys on the production side of things—especially since I’m clueless about half of what you guys do. Thank you to each of you for bringing so much talent and patience for your, sometimes bumbling, editor in chief, into each of your roles. You all rock! 

To each member of every editorial staff that I’ve worked with before: I wouldn’t have gotten here without you guys helping me along the way. I’d like to think I’ve learned something from each of you that I’ve used in my editorship. Thanks for all the help! 

And, finally, to each and every reader of The Alabamian this year: I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but you guys have helped my dreams come true. There would be no paper without readers, so thank you for taking the time to read The Alabamian. I hope you’ll all stay tuned for next year, because, even though I’ll be gone, I know big things are on the way.