ANNIKA WALL, TRUMPET CREATIVE DIRECTOR
All good things must come to an end. It’s a cliche. While I knew my time at Wartburg would eventually end, this isn’t how I thought it would.
No days of fanfare. No official cap-and-gown graduation ceremony.
Maybe this is OK.
If I’ve learned anything the past three and a half years, it’s that days filled with celebration are not necessary to acknowledge that something amazing happened. I may have lost my final “normal” semester and a half to COVID-19, but it made me realize just how much I value the bonds Wartburg has given me.
Having to be unexpectedly separated from my classmates, professors and friends for nearly six months made me realize just how important those relationships are. Now, as I go out into the workforce, I’m realizing the dedication I’ll need to have for those friendships to last.
There won’t be any more sitting in the newsroom talking about classes, editing Trumpet pages in the J-Lab or supporting one another through a long night of homework in a video editing bay. Those activities might have been how our relationships manifested, but they transcend those activities.
In a month’s time, what used to be eating dinner in the Mensa with my roommate may turn into driving four hours to grab dinner with a former classmate. It’s something I hadn’t thought about just three months ago. With my final days on campus looming, it’s something I’m ready to acknowledge.
It’s my turn to leave Wartburg as a student one last time. When your time comes, remember the people who made the experience worthwhile and the memories made together.
Knight Wire 
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