It's my last day here at the Honolulu Advertiser. I've been lucky to have spent the last four almost 5 years here, working in both the Sports and TGIF sections of the newspaper. I almost don't believe that it's over, it's very surreal.
What more could a girl ask for? Job straight out college (technically still in college, I graduated in August of 2005), in the profession she earned her degree in Journalism. Wrong! I totally hated working here the first couple of months, I was 21 just out of college ready to party, and this night time job of mine (weekend night time job!) disrupted my plans! I look back now and think about how dumb I was, such an ungrateful 21 year old. Now after four years I'm grateful for my time here, for the relationships I've made, and the experiences we've shared. There were a lot of laughs, inside jokes, rants and raves, debates, and complaints.
After working three years for UH Sports Media Relations I knew I wanted to go into sports journalism. I was lucky enough to be hired here in 2005 fresh out of college. I'm grateful to Stephen Tsai for letting me know about the opening for this position, and to Curtis Murayama for taking a chance on the girl who never even played a sport in high school (AHS marching band WHAT!) and only really knew about surfing and UH sports. Even though we (us sports clerks) hated waiting and waiting and waiting for those scores to come in, I'll miss gossiping and joking around with Seryna and Tiera. I'll miss our UH football potlucks, the entire sports staff (watching games, matches, and even the news will NOT be the same without sarcastic, witty comments coming from every direction), rooting for whoever is leading late in a game so there won’t be overtime (makes it tough to meet deadlines), Warren our No. 1 fan and caller, cheering on our favorite teams and celebrating wins, complaining over horrible calls and tough losses, keeping tabs on pop culture with my fellow clerks Seryna and Tiera. I could go on and on.
I'll also miss my TGIF/Island Life family. Even though I was only there for one year, it was one of the best. It was much more different from sports, in sports it's like you work in this little sports bubble, I can't really explain it but working in TGIF was a real learning experience professionally and personally. My TGIF family was small and close knit, and that is probably why I loved working there. I loved talking about the randomest subjects like Nick's beard, the latest celeb gossip with Diane, Gossip Girl and Project Runway recaps with Kawehi, listening about the good ol Advertiser days with Wayne and Deb, and everyone's favorite topic of conversation the latest, coolest, yummiest places to eat on the island. I learned about the business side of journalism, how networking and social media is so important, and I got a taste of making this as my career, not just a cool part-time job. I'm so grateful for your encouragement and thank you for always believing in me and my work.
Mostly I’ll miss the camaraderie and being a part of the BEST sections of the state's BEST newspaper.
Honolulu Advertiser, thanks for the memories.
