I feel like I’m mourning the death of a loved one while simultaneously winning the mega millions lottery. This is all very confusing.
Today, I said goodbye to my first full time job. I can’t put into words how much I care about The Examiner and it’s staff. I can’t help but feel like I’m leaving my family. The journalists in The Examiner newsroom are incredibly dedicated to their craft and I’m grateful I was able to get a first-hand glimpse into that sort of passion during my two years there. Those people give me hope for the future of this industry and reminded me every day why what we do is so incredibly important. So, guys, this is my ode to you.
The Examiner wasn’t only my first job, it was also my first newspaper internship. It was where I was able to first learn how to balance my love for photojournalism and my personal life without going completely crazy. It was where I got my first experience working in a real newsroom with real deadlines and real journalists. I can’t believe how much I was able to witness while working there. I’m honestly the luckiest person in the word to have had that job and whoever gets it better treat it like the precious gift that it is.
I got a front row seat to so many of San Francisco’s historic moments over the past two years. I got behind the walls of San Quentin. I met the residents who live on the city streets and sat with them while they told me their story. I watched the Warriors earn a championship. There’s nothing I can say that can express how much I feel like I owe this paper for giving me these opportunities.
Luckily, I’m not going far. Just one block over to my new home at the San Francisco Chronicle which I haven’t even began to process is a real life thing I’ll be diving into on Tuesday. You all will keep seeing me cover the city i love and I’ll still be seeing my old co-workers almost every day while on assignment. I’m extremely lucky that that’s the case.
I’m bad at goodbyes, so here’s my “see you around”, instead.
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