Well, this is weird, isn’t it? I never imagined I’d be making Spectrum’s senior issue from my bedroom in New Jersey. You probably didn’t think you’d be reading it as a PDF attached to an email. It’s heartbreaking.
More importantly than anything, wherever you are reading this from, I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. This is a crazy time, but I think the atmosphere and spirit of SHU has been in all of us. I know it’s been a huge part of what’s been getting me through.
The senior issue is typically a place for the senior members of Spectrum to reflect on their time at SHU, as they look forward to senior week, graduation, and the rest of their lives. As of right now, the class of 2020 has none of that. Sure, graduation and the rest of our lives are still going to happen, but when? For many of us, the job market is pretty bleak. Post-grad trips are cancelled. Tours of graduate schools are postponed. We are all just sitting here in what feels like a void of nothingness, which can be really depressing. But it has also served as a time for me to reflect on all that SHU has given me.
I remember freshman year, I walked on campus thinking that it was going to be the most perfect four years of my life. It was going to be the end of all of the problems I dealt with in high school. Spoiler alert! It hasn’t been. It isn’t for anyone. If you know me, you know that I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the beginning of my sophomore year. It was tough, and it changed everything I knew about myself and my life. But, while almost everything was uncertain, one thing was for sure: SHU was my home.
There was something about the atmosphere the first time I walked onto campus. I knew they called it “the door-holding school,” but I don’t think I knew all that SHU would truly do for me until I got there. College is a time during which everyone changes. We are all dropped off on a campus and told “Okay, go get an education. See you on break!” For many of us, it is our first taste of independence. From the minute I first walked onto campus, I learned more and more about who I was and what I wanted.
Fast forward 3.75 years later, to me receiving the email that classes were cancelled for a few weeks due to the coronavirus. I don’t think many of us were very alarmed by it. I never expected that the following Friday would be the last day at the internship that I loved, and that I had already had my very last college class.
Everyone always told me that college would be the best four years of my life, and I knew I would miss college. I was always told college was the time in life when you had total freedom, and everything was easy. You could sleep late, party, and hang out with your friends all the time. And, yeah, all of that is true. But, that’s not what I’m going to miss.
Never did I imagine all the things I would have to leave behind. My team that I competed alongside, the professors that have mentored me and taught me everything I know, the classmates I’ve learned with, and the place where it all happened. I wouldn’t be who I am without SHU and the open and loving atmosphere it was. Throughout these past four years, I had the opportunity to grow, meet amazing people, and figure out what I want my future to look like.
But, out of all of the opportunities I’ve had at SHU, I can say that working on Spectrum has taught me the most. I have spent many nights in the office after midnight, written probably a hundred novel-length emails, and cried a lot (you should ask my roommate). But as challenging and frustrating it has been, seeing a nearly-empty rack on campus was that much more rewarding, and building a family has meant more than anything.
This would have been impossible without the hard work put in by my staff. Dom, thank you for doing everything I didn’t know how to do (which is basically anything besides writing). Your hard work didn’t go unnoticed. Erica, Spectrum wouldn’t have been successful without your hard work and leadership. To the editors of the News, Perspectives, Features, A&E, and Sports sections, you all worked so hard to keep campus informed, and you did a phenomenal job. Copy editors, there would have been many misspelled words if it weren’t for you both! Public Relations and Advertising managers, you played a huge role in Spectrum’s impact on campus. Professor Kabak, you have pushed us all to be our very best since the day we walked into your class, and it has left an impact on each of us. I will carry the lessons you taught me throughout my entire career. And to the writers: thank you for all the hours and passion you put into your writing. I think I can speak for all of Spectrum’s readers when I say that we have had so much fun reading your work.
To Dan, Shannon, Deanna and all of next year’s board, you will be AMAZING. I know that for a fact. I hope that us seniors have paved the way for you to make Spectrum even better. I am so excited to see what you all accomplish.
During this crazy time, I urge you all to do one thing (besides read Spectrum, you should do that, too). I hope that you are taking this time to be thankful for everything that you do have, during a time when it’s easy to focus on what we don’t. I am thankful for everyone who is reading this, and I’m excited for the next time you read Spectrum, because it will be on paper, not on your laptop screen.
Yours,
Bryana Cielo
Editor in Chief
