Well, here it is:

my last column as a summer intern.

It is time for me to return to school.

I am so excited about graduating.

Finally, after four years, all my work will have paid off and I will get my degree.

Woo-hoo!

I learned so much while working at the Roanoke-Chowan-News-Herald.

I would like to thank Cal, Cheryl, Amanda and everyone else at the office for making my summer experience so enjoyable.

Not only did I learn a lot about journalism, but I also had fun doing my job.

I met so many nice people and I learned about dealing with people and communication.

I had a blast.

This summer has truly been a real growing experience for me.

I remember last semester before school let out when I was looking for a summer job.

I applied to several places and tried weighing my options on which job would work out best, but I really didn’t have any luck.

One day I went to my friend and mentor, Mr. Stewart’s, office.

Mr. Stewart teaches communication classes at Barton and he is the adviser for The Collegiate.

He and his wife Mrs. Karen own the paper, The Kenly News, which is where I did an internship last semester.

The Stewarts are awesome people and I knew Mr. Stewart would help me if he could.

I had been struggling for awhile trying to figure out what I wanted to do once I graduate. Although technically I am an English major, I became interested in journalism through the school paper.

So, when I considered jobs, I thought about applying at the Roanoke-Chowan-News n Herald.

When I went to Mr. Stewart’s office, I told him my problem.

He looked at me and said, “Meagan, you can do this.”

Well, those who know me well know that I can be a little stubborn.

I was also scared. I have always been a little shy and when someone performs the job as a reporter, they have to talk to people.

That terrified me.

I kept saying, “I DO NOT want to be a journalist.”

Well, have you ever heard the saying, “Never say never because you will end up doing just that?”

That is exactly what happened to me and somewhere along the line I became a journalist.

Anyway, as Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

Mr. Stewart told me that applying for the job was my decision, but if I wanted, he could call the Herald and tell them about me and set up an interview.

I took a few days to think about it and then I decided that it was something I needed to do.

On my first day at the Herald I knew that I was going to learn a lot and I was going to have fun, too.

However, writing columns scared me. I remember panicking when I tried to write my first column because it was so different from anything else I had ever written.

When our fearless editor told me that I could write a column and it would come out every Tuesday, I had no idea what to write.

I sat in front of my blank computer screen with my hands posed over the keyboard.

I just couldn’t think of anything that was worthwhile to say.

I remember thinking, “What in the world can I write that people would actually want to read?”

I decided right away that if I stuck to writing about familiar things that mean something to me, I could do a better job with it.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what things are important to me: my family, friends, God, school, reading, ice cream, chocolate, etc.

I also figured that random funny stories that have happened to me in my life would be nice touch.

After my writer’s block left and I finally wrote my first column, I was hooked.

It was fun to be able to share my opinion and my life with other people.

So, faithful readers, I would like to thank each and every one of you for actually reading what I wrote, not only my columns, but my articles as well.

It has meant a lot to me to be able to share a piece of my life with you.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my summer experience as much as I enjoyed living it.

Without readers, any kind of writing is meaningless.

I would like to leave you with a quote by Henry David Thoreau.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”