By Sierra Barrios,
Graduating Managing Editor
Reflecting on my time with Rampage is like staring into a pool of water as the sun dances across its surface. It’s tranquil and calm but when I reach beneath the stillness, there’s a sea of memories filled with colors and life.
In Rampage, I found a purpose. As a kid, I always liked to learn things, and I couldn’t soak up enough information to satisfy my curiosity. I was also passionate about the world around me, but I could never focus on one topic. Then, I discovered the multifaceted art of journalism.
I found a way to soak up information like an ever-present sponge. I found a path that allowed me to keep moving forward and explore different things. I found a way to use my skills like writing, art and design to inform, educate and entertain. Without even realizing it, journalism became part of me.
Journalism courses through my veins and pumps blood to my heart like a lifeline. I am eternally grateful to Rampage for allowing me the freedom to find that passion.
More than that, I made so many wonderful memories with so many interesting people. My fellow Rampagers helped cultivate my experience and shape the journalist I am today. I’ve met designers like Evan Solano and legends like Mary Beth Tinker. I’ve traveled to our nation’s capital and attended competitions, and through it all I found a piece of myself I didn’t know I needed.
So when I stare down at that shimmering pool, at the calm surface of that water, I am afraid. I’m afraid to breathe, to do anything that could cause that water to ripple and shift and expose all the memories beneath the surface. Not because they scare me, but because it scares me to say goodbye.
Reflection is the most difficult part of moving on, but it’s a part one can’t grow without. I need to push past that fear and let the joy, the happiness, the frustration, the friendship and all those bittersweet moments hit me like a tidal wave. I need to absorb the heartbreak and cherish every memory so I’m ready to face the ferocity of the sun.
Over the past few years, words became my greatest ally. It’s ironic that as I write this goodbye, they seem to fail me. There aren’t enough pretty adjectives or convoluted metaphors in the world to accurately describe the sheer weight of the ocean between my eyes, but I know it’s time to face the storm.
It feels only right to finish this chapter by going back to the beginning. I remember walking into Ms. V’s room for my interview freshman year like it was yesterday: I was shaking and terrified and absolutely dumbfounded I even got that far. I remember what it was like to be a first year staff writer with something to prove, volunteering for more assignments than I could handle and somehow pulling it off before publishing day.
Looking back, I suddenly miss the sleepless nights of working on my page and the 2 a.m. insomniac group chat messages bombarding my tired eyes. I miss the stress, the fear, the exhaustion and the pressure because it made me so much stronger. Moreover, it further connected me to my amazing, dedicated, hardworking Rampage family.
I can’t explain this in too much detail because it’s classified (seriously, this is top secret Rampage code), but it wouldn’t be a senior goodbye without remembering a proper hello. “We are the Rampage family. You must entertain us until we applaud you.”
I remember doing a Peppa Pig impression that definitely didn’t amuse a soul, but I can only hope that when I walk across the stage in my cap and gown, my Rampage family applauds me one last time. I hope you’ve been entertained, and I’ll miss this family more than anyone will ever know.