Four years ago, my family and I moved to Winthrop.  We knew nobody, and it took me a decent year and a half before I found a community to be a part of.  Sure, I tried volleyball and the Drama Society and, though they were fun, I didn’t feel right.  Then in March of my sophomore year, I walked into Ms. Irvine’s room and asked if I could join The Viking Times.  And from there, the rest is history.

This might be one of the only times where I am at a loss of words regarding what to write.  I’ve written about three different variations of this article, unsatisfied with all.  If you know me well, you’ll know I am not sentimental when it comes to writing.  In fact, it makes me a little uncomfortable!  Contradictory to the Looney Tunes reference in the image, I cannot ignore how much of an impact being a member of The Viking Times has had on my life.  I’ve had the incredible opportunity of representing the State of Massachusetts at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, where I grew as a person and as a journalist.  I’ve entered a series of articles that I wrote about the override for a local Gracie Award given by the Alliance for Women in Media, which I will be accepting in June.  These events are something I will never, ever forget, but it’s the lessons that I’ve learned here that are the most important.

Throughout my time at The Viking Times, I’ve learned accountability, responsibility, and the act in believing in myself.  My advisers have told me repeatedly to have confidence it what I do, and it’s finally rubbed off.  In some cases, maybe too much: I spent a lot of time trying to get interviews, biting off more than I could chew, getting my hopes up too high.  The risks that I took in my potential articles ended in failure, and that left a lasting impact on me.  When I reach out to someone for an interview, I’m more conscious, and my hopes are low.  I’ve learned that hope is good, but it can very well be dangerous.  However, hope is the thing that keeps you going.  Hope is what drives me to write.  I hope that my writing will reach readers.  I hope my writing will serve a purpose.  Being a writer has taught me that you cannot hope if you don’t plan to work hard.  And when you work hard, your hard work will pay off.

Thank you to Ms. Irvine for giving me the confidence I needed and believing in me when I didn’t.  Thank you to Mr. Donnelly for letting my mind think and also giving me confidence and allowing me to showcase it in my writing.  Thank you to the 2024-2025 staff writers for showing how incredible your talents are and for being so easy to work with.  If you’ve read to here, thank you.  Thank you for reading my last article, allowing me to do my job as a journalist.

So long,

Shannon Raneri, Editor-in-Chief

P.S. You’re not rid of me yet!  I have one more article!  Consider it my Final Reckoning.