I’ve been going crazy the past few weeks.

I haven’t published a single article. I haven’t read any articles to submit to Best of SNO. The website isn’t mine to work on anymore.

I’ve been dreading this since I started editing for Common Sense. I hated that someone else would get to have jurisdiction over the website. It has felt so much like my own project, something I get to take care of and make my own. Someone coming in and changing everything scared me. Being the online editor-in-chief was a dream of mine for so long, and when I got this job, I wanted nothing more than to live up to what the role entailed. Before I passed on my job, I felt deeply upset about the concept of moving on. For the past year, my life has revolved around scheduling posts and constantly reading articles. What was I to do if I didn’t have Common Sense?

I had this crisis for about a month. Passing on the torch is difficult, and I couldn’t help but think about all the editors before me. We all have to move on eventually, but I didn’t expect letting go to hurt as much as it did. All the hours I’ve poured in, all the pages I made – it felt like it was all just being taken away and replaced with a graduation cap.

Then I remembered how in ninth grade, the online editor-in-chief of Common Sense sat beside me in art class. I told him how much I loved to write, and that I wished I could do it more. Every single day for months, he would pitch the idea of joining the newspaper. But I had an idea in my head of what my high school career was going to look like, and newspaper just wasn’t a part of that. I wanted the perfect grades and perfect extracurriculars, and although it would give me a creative outlet, it just seemed like too much of a workload for me to handle on top of everything else I had going on.

But when I was registering for classes that spring, I couldn’t help but think about what he had said to me. I had a free space in my schedule, and I decided to sign up for newspaper. If he hadn’t passed on the torch to me, I wouldn’t be writing this article, majoring in journalism or, most importantly, getting to spend 42 minutes a day with the best people I’ve ever known. Although it hurts to say goodbye to the most significant experience of my high school career, passing on the torch means someone else gets to love Common Sense – the website, the print magazine and the people – as much as I have.

I’d like to thank everyone on the Common Sense staff. You all inspire me to be a better version of myself every day. Every one of you is so incredibly unique, and I’ll carry a piece of you with me forever.

Mrs. Starr – your influence on me cannot be understated. Thank you for everything you do for us. I’ll love you always.

And to my incoming online editors-in-chief – Rebekah, Cameron and Alex – I know you’ll do amazing. I hope you love the job with all your heart.