Throughout my past four years on The Chronicle, I have occasionally thought about what I would say in my senior sendoff. As I try to form the words for the last piece I will ever write for the paper that is my everything, it seems every idea I ever had has flown out the window.   

I wish I could give you, the reader, some sort of wisdom that I alone possess as a soon-to-be-graduating senior and the former editor-in-chief of this paper. After all, my experience on The Chronicle has given me journalism skills, taught me how to be a leader and made me more confident. I know I am prepared to enter the workforce because of what I have learned here.

But, alas, I cannot give you any advice that you have not already heard.  

Because I guess one of the key things I’ve learned on The Chronicle and in college is that no one really has all the answers, but everyone has the potential to do anything.

Especially as a freshman, I thought of the seniors on The Chronicle as superhumans who always could answer my questions and had a plan for when something went wrong. Back then, I did not think I could be editor-in-chief because I thought I was not capable enough for the job.

Four years later, I have finished up my time on the paper, but I still don’t have superhuman abilities. As editor-in-chief, I did not always know what to do when the paper ran into tough spots–whether that was criticism or people drama. And that was okay.

I took every problem that came my way and sort of made it up as I went along. I made pro-con lists. I asked for help. I followed my gut. I made mistakes. I had the best year of my life.  

So to my amazing successor Sarah Doiron, the entire Chronicle staff and every single one of you reading this, don’t doubt yourself. You don’t have to be superman. You just have to be you. And you are capable of anything.