Senior Column | A silver lining

I don’t like Pittsburgh. If I had the chance to be in my shoes four years ago, I would absolutely, truly, without a shadow of a doubt, select a different college to attend. Maybe I would’ve taken a gap year and done seasonal work on a ranch out west, tried harder on my SAT, made a more compelling argument in my personal statement and gone somewhere a little more fitting. I often think about how my college years would have played out at William and Mary or Syracuse. 

How bad does it have to be for one to long for a college experience in Colonial Williamsburg?

I know this is a hot take. I’ve had countless Uber drivers rave about how Pittsburgh is, and I’m quoting directly here, “America’s best-kept secret.” I wish more than anything I could join in on the enthusiasm — it’s upsetting. There’s this narrative out there that college is supposed to be the time of your life, and I’ve spent a chunk of mine wishing I were somewhere else. I’ve run through all the different actions I could have taken to make it better — I should’ve transferred, maybe tried my hand in Greek Life, joined different clubs or tried harder to meet more people. 

These thoughts were constant. However, during the summer before my junior year, bedridden in my childhood home as a result of a hand surgery, I came to the conclusion that I needed to stop dwelling on these “should haves” and instead take actionable steps to improve how I felt about living in Pittsburgh for the next two years. I thought about when I was happiest in this city — during the time spent with my best friends at rowing practice, going out to parties or bars after a long week, perusing through Carnegie Library, learning a new communications theory or linguistics fact, or finding a new favorite cafe in one of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. The singular way I came up with improving the remainder of my time was by practicing my favorite hobby — writing. 

Enter the opinions desk at The Pitt News — I joined in the fall of 2024 as an opinions columnist and spent this past year as the assistant and then head editor of the desk. I got to write about all my takes on the presidential election, and then I got to write about my reactions to the rather unfortunate results of that election. I also got to write about why I love to gossip and why I think we should all go to the movies. I wrote about the time I got flashed at a Backyard Brawl, and how I think women can’t ever seem to win. Beyond that, I got to edit hundreds of pieces written by some of the coolest people I know. 

At each pitch meeting, I got to laugh until my stomach hurt at Harper and Danae’s bickering. I got to marvel at Heidi’s knowledge of film and hear about Abby’s creative takes on pop culture. I got to be inspired by Lauren’s reviews of literature and media, read Sierra’s compelling arguments condemning the use of AI and learn about Bel’s passion for Star Trek. I got consistently blown away by Stepan’s ability to write about a niche idea and leave readers feeling like an expert on the topic by the end of the column. I got to read Ashley’s pieces and place them straight through to production, because they were just that well written. Even though Mari, Brady and Serenity joined us with just two weeks left, each of their columns proved that it’s not about how much time you have, but what you do with that time. 

When I was getting trained for the editorial position, I was told, “It’s kind of like you’re getting a new friend group.” I couldn’t agree more. I’ve dragged myself to the WPU on a Sunday morning, shaking from my hangover, with a huge smile on my face, thinking about the laughs the editorial board and I were about to have. I’ve stayed at the office into the early hours of a Monday morning, gotten up just a couple of hours later for a morning practice, and thought, “Wow, I can’t wait to do it again.” I stopped counting down the days until I left Pittsburgh — I didn’t want a reminder of how few moments I had left with this organization. 

I think what I keep coming back to is just how lucky I am. I wasn’t originally selected for the editorial position, but was given the spot when the other candidate turned it down. It could have been any group of students at Pitt that I was on the editorial board alongside, but it was this exact combination of people. 

Each late night, each squabble about what the editorial should be and each knowing look shared when a column was going to need a lot of work was with an incredible team of amazing talent. I’m going to miss them all so very much. 

Brynn, Sage, Briana, Kyra, Naomi, Conor, Alex K., Alex J., Abby, Grace, Kyle, Emily, Puli and Liam — you have done what was formerly thought to be impossible. You guys made me enjoy my time in Pittsburgh.