The White Pages: I didn't know it would end like this

When I was young, I would drive in the backseat of my mom's car down Route 24 and see the sign for Bridgewater State College. "Who would go to college there?" I thought. "Bridgewater's not even a state." Fast-forward about ten years and I was enrolling into that weird town, state school thing. Fast-forward another four and a half, and I am on my way out.

I was probably told a thousand times in high school that college would change my life. I didn't know what that meant at the time. I didn't realize it would be far from an over-exaggeration.

Somehow, I went from a commuter who didn't speak a word on campus to the Managing Editor of the college newspaper. I dedicated the last two and a half years of my life to this newspaper and probably spent more time in its office than my own bedroom, literally.

There were plenty of weeks that I went without seeing friends or family, plenty of nights I would return home at 3 a.m. from a 19-hour day at the office, only to start to write a paper on "Paradise Lost." And I wouldn't change a thing. This newspaper allowed me to find my passion in journalism that will hopefully drive me to the next chapter in my life.

Never will I forget this newspaper. I'm so thankful for deciding to apply for Sports Editor way back in 2003, and so thankful the editors that were just crazy enough to hire me. At the time, it was seemingly a small decision, who knew it would lead me to meet Richard Clarke, John Kerry, Howard Dean, and dozens of people on this campus I would otherwise not know existed, including my co-workers, who over the years became some great friends. I also found my best friend and girlfriend while working at this newspaper. For a half of semester I was able to put my column side by side with hers which was one of my favorite parts of this whole experience. If for nothing else, I am thankful I met her, a person so special and important in my life.

I've grown up from all the mistakes (faulty headlines), all the complaints (comics, comics, and comics), and all the great times that far outweighed everything else, like the conference in New York City and the Democratic debate in Boston to mention a couple from a long, long list.

How many people can say they put together a Championship Edition of a newspaper featuring the Red Sox as World Champions? The morning after 86 years of misery had ended, I did just that. That paper was on newsstands less than 24 hours after the final out. It was the first time I had a smile on my face while working at 6 a.m. on three hours sleep.

Never will I forget September 11 and watching the second plane crash into the tower on live television in the Moakley Building. Never will I forget the commotion before that scene, people talking to one another, wondering if what they were thinking was actually true.and then the dead silence after that became a reality. The pin that could be heard if dropped for the following eternity. The students, who were strangers to one another but, turned to one another for consoling.

This college. A college that featured inadequate parking, long cold walks to class, frustrations of registration, and buses that never came.and I'll miss it all.

I'll miss the underappreciated and underpaid faculty of BSC that are so inspirational and dedicated to giving me the education I need to journey to the real-world. You succeeded.

I'm going to become a college grad. Typing that sentence makes it feel a little more real. This is my last column, hopefully not ever, but in a publication that I poured my heart into. I never received one response to any of my columns. I'll admit it bothered me a little, after all, I attempted to inform at times and persuade at others. I hope I was able to accomplish that just once for someone.

It's weird when I look back on it all, knowing one minor decision not to join the newspaper would have wiped away all these thoughts and literally erase this column.

Looking back at my college career, I'm proud to say that I have no regrets, even if the little kid in me would have thought I was crazy to attend a town, state school thing.