Editor’s Note Pt. II: The author of this column is willing to apologize to anybody who takes offense to this photo.

There are moments in my life when I feel like I’m playing with house money.

I suppose that’s a natural feeling when you take a kid from Seguin, Texas, and tell him he’s going to New York City for a Sports Illustrated internship. I apologize for the subtle flex, but I still feel like that kid who was just trying to get into this damn school.

That’s probably why my time at The Daily Texan, including the NFL Draft, Texas vs. USC game in Los Angeles and that one day when we ran ‘Big Dicker Energy’ in the paper, all feels like a dream.

Writing this column is a bit strange for me, and as much as I would love to return next fall, I also know how naive it is to assume everything will go as planned. That’s why I feel obligated to jot down a few words for the incredible people who took care of me in my time in the basement.

I was told I only have 13–15 inches for this 30 column. That’s basically the newspaper’s way of aggressively crescendoing the music like they do at the Oscars to get people off the stage.

Let’s jump straight to thank you’s:

To Ross, I’m not sure anybody has ever tried to be the sports editor, football beat writer and Double Coverage editor at the same time. I can confidently say nobody ever will after this semester. Seriously, we are such idiots. I’m not sure if we’ll ever get to work together again, so it’s only fitting that our last assignment is in New Orleans on New Year’s.

To all of the managing editors, well, let’s start with Forrest and Catherine. I want y’all to know from the bottom of my heart that y’all were by far my least favorite managing editors this semester.

Ellie, thank you for letting us run ‘Big Dicker Energy’ in the newspaper. I’ve known this for a while, but you’re the best managing editor I’ve worked under here at the Texan. I promise that isn’t an exaggeration.

To the Texan homies, there are way too many of y’all to shout out individually, but it is my hope that you have at least one positive memory of me. There should be plenty to choose from, I’ve been the most entertaining writer at the Texan since 2016.

Mom, thanks for being my best friend. Oh, and for making the role of a single mother look so easy. Tia and DA, thanks for treating me like your own and making this whole thing work.

Finally, to every single person in my support system, in and out of the basement, I owe y’all absolutely everything. This strand of semesters hasn’t always been easy, but this has been one of the best damn experiences of my life.