I’m not quite sure what to say in this column.

I’ve stewed on it for at least a month, knowing it’ll have to be done. Yet, I still can’t think of where to start.

I could get on my soapbox and thank everyone who’s made my time at The Sunflower meaningful. I could get on my high horse and gloat about all I’ve done.

I don’t want to do either because, honestly, I’m not ready to call it quits. I’m not ready to say goodbye to my coworkers and friends, or the university I’ve called home for four years.

But graduating is inevitable, and I’ve reached my time.

Soon, my name won’t appear on the current staff page. Soon, I won’t connect you to the sports, players and coaches you watch through words, photos and videos. Soon, I won’t participate in class and turn in exams — which I can’t say I’ll miss too much.

What I will miss is taking my morning walks from Yale Street to Elliott Hall, through a door that looks like it leads nowhere, and down steps to an underground heartbeat.

A heartbeat that I’ve grown to the rhythm of, as both a journalist and a person.

When I first joined The Sunflower, I had very little — if any — reporting experience. Now, as I prepare to collect everything that sits on my workspace, I can say I’m a better writer and, more importantly, human than before I arrived.

I’ve learned the compassion that comes from serving a community. I’ve learned that curiosity may not have actually killed the cat, because everyone knows it’ll have eight more lives and triumph will bring it back. I’ve learned that no detail is unimportant, that no question is wrong — just poorly worded. I’ve learned to take risks, even if the end result is a failure.

All of that to say, I’ve firmly found a heartbeat at The Sunflower — in my writing and livelihood.

I’ve found my passion.

But my easiest hello has become my hardest goodbye.

Though I don’t want to say it, I must.

Goodbye, Sunflower.

Goodbye, everyone who reads beyond this headline.

Goodbye, Wichita State.

Take care,

Owen Prothro

Sports Editor