So, youngster, where have you been these last few years?

It's still fuzzy. But they tell me I tried on college for size.

So, how's the fit?

Not too bad, actually. Not too bad at all.

This won't be easy though?

Nope, good-byes never are. And this one just isn't flowing the way it should. But I am indebted to this space. These pages have been good to me. I am indebted to Collegian readers, simply for being there. Besides, it's too depressing to write for something that will never leave the shelf.

I wish I could have strapped you in with me as I whipped past these corners, as this publication has blessed me with a window to show you how I see things from my vantage point.

What will you remember?

A few things. Mike Jacober, for one. A former Penn State lacrosse player who gave me my first one-on-one interview less than two weeks after he lost his father, mother and brother in a tragic plane crash. I could never be that brave. You wanted to borrow whatever juice he had left. You wanted to sample his composure, his presence, his tranquility as the world around him was erupting.

It was quite foolish on my part, actually. Who asks a guy questions he has no answers for?

But that's what journalists do. They sometimes look silly to get the obvious answers. They have to sacrifice, often more than you know, so the public can be informed.

That experience gave me a heap of perspective. It taught me that responsibility in this business is not a choice, but a mandate.

It took me a while before I understood I was paying a service. It's a duty that for four years I have not taken lightly.

And never underestimate the power of your voice as students. Just this week, the student voice spoke aloud about its discontentment with a football ticket lottery system. Never had I seen an administration reverse its decision so quickly because of an uproar.

There's no better feeling in this world than knowing you affected change. And let's be honest, where else but a forum like this can you awake every morning and see the fruits of your labor packaged on a doorstep?

But that raises a question about the business itself, won't you say?

I have the same talk with friends everyday. I tell them I am not completely sold on the future of journalism. I tell them I love doing this, but the exposure is not what it once was. Some take my side. Others, who are more optimistic, tell me 'just wait and see, things will get better.' "

In the meantime?

You let the scenarios play out. You reflect on the good times, you freeze moments that can never be thawed (thanks JV).

Certain things will never leave me, like the day Rene Portland resigned. Never had I been more proud of my sports staff, the way it pulled together and put out a special section that typically would have taken days to produce. Working at the Collegian has taught me how many great things can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.

That's what we have here, a bunch of selfless people who care and love to tell stories and love to serve. If that isn't a family, I don't know what is.

What about home?

The heart is always there, and the degree I'll receive in a few weeks has a lot more to do with that place than me. I won't lie, graduation is a big deal. And being the first to do it means generations can follow and know anything is possible.

What's next?

This is the time when society expects you to have your mind made. But I dare not put myself in a box. No way, not at 21. Not while I'm having the time of my life.

So what advice do you give a man who already has everything?

You tell him to hold on to his family and friends. You tell him to never jump without a safety net. You tell him to be prepared when he wakes up, because there is always a story to tell.