Listen, whoever is reading this, prepare for a ramble, because when this guy starts talking, his thoughts can go everywhere and anywhere.

In joining the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, I found a great place to put my work and a place where I got to meet a lot of people I now call friends. Last year, I came to the Collegian flustered to say the least. I had left a place where I felt like I was treated poorly and had lost most of my friends. When I finally got over that drama, I was reenergized to get my ass in gear and start cranking out journalism broadcast videos under the watchful eye and guidance of Greeley Kyle.

Funnily enough, at the same time, Sports Editor Colin McCarthy announced he was starting up a new section in Collegian: videos. I thought to myself; “Oh hell yeah, this is where I can put my work on and make a name for myself.” Not only did I come out of the gate hot with a series of videos on the University of Massachusetts’ housing crisis, but somehow I even nailed an assistant editor position.

By the end of the year, I felt confident with my journalism skills and was able to obtain an internship with WPRI. After the internship, I realized journalism was not for me. Honest props and kudos to you who are going into and sticking with the journalism industry; it was tough to see the reality of broadcast journalism and I knew I didn’t have the heart to stick with it.

My heart is in my stomach and my love is for food. I’ve always been a big kid who had a big appetite. But this past year I realized that I could make food a career! I’ve worked for a private members club for a while now, but hospitality and service are a whole other industry. This year I worked with the HTM department to explore that passion and it’s been showing through my Collegian work, with my Chowdown, apple crisp and charcuterie stories. It’s been invaluable, and I’ve never felt so excited or prepared for life outside of college.

During my time I got to meet and connect with many other people: Asha Baron, my head video editor, the assistants including Shanti, Sami and Katie, and Colin of course. Thank you, guys, for making videos fun and for pushing me to improve on my work.

Shoutout to Johnny Depin and Caitlin Reardon for being some of the first people to really connect with and talk to me outside of people I already knew in the Collegian. You guys were my first impressions of this newsroom, and it was a good one. Look at you all now: managing editor and editor-in-chief respectively. I am so thankful and proud of you guys.

Now for the people I knew before: Liv Cap, my girl from North, thank you for making me feel comfortable and for having a longtime friend in the Collegian. Luke Ruud, the homie from History of American Journalism; you were my dog then and you’re my dog now, even if you’re my boss. Jack Underhill, you were Heather’s goofy friend, but I’ve really seen you mature, and you run the newsroom while bringing your writers to a higher echelon of journalism.

I know I’m missing a lot of people, especially the ones that I really connected with this year, but if we ever had a pleasant interaction, or a genuine bond through the Collegian, thank you and you know that I appreciate you.

To wrap it up, thank you to the people I’ve met along the way in the Collegian. Even though I’m not sticking with the profession, I am very thankful for the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had along the way.

Ethan Brayall-Brown was an Assistant Videos Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].