In Warren Zevon’s last appearance on Letterman, he said, “You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich, and every minute playing with the guys and being with the kids and everything.” Zevon was dying from cancer at the time.

While I am not dying, I am reaching the end of my time with The Sunflower. And, as these final days come, I am left to ponder my time on the paper.

I decided to apply to The Sunflower on a whim, having no idea that I would get the job. After a year and a half, The Sunflower has done more for me than any class at Wichita State University would ever teach me.

I have a lot of people to thank this past year and a half. First of all, I want to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Also, I want to thank my awesome parents, Trina and Shadd Smith. I want to thank my grandfather, Dr. Joquin Santos, and my old youth group leader, Dirk Hubbered.

I want to thank Kim White, my broadcast technology teacher at Blue Valley Northwest, who made me fall in love with journalism. Finally, I want to thank everyone who has been on the Sunflower during my time on it.

Thank you to the editors who had to edit my stories, thank you to the people who complimented and critiqued my work and thank you to anyone who has spent time with me. It’s so rare when a group of people who have a shared goal excels at it, but that’s what The Sunflower is.

Being on The Sunflower staff has taught me that time management becomes survival, not advice. Doing student journalism has made me feel more satisfied than anything else that I have done here at WSU.

My advice to everyone who will leave The Sunflower one day is to enjoy every sandwich, remember to enjoy the small things and put more value in every minute.

To quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Godspeed, my friends,

Mack Smith