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Saying goodbye to this chapter of my life is weird. The idea of not coming back to write next year is even weirder. It was a thought that I never paid much mind to; but maybe I should have. If I had, maybe this feeling of dread would be processed and the sinking feeling in my gut would be gone. I don’t want to leave. The Courier has been my source of pride. Every day writing was a day full of joy, laughs, and memories. Saying goodbye to this chapter is hard. I love writing, and The Courier was the outlet I needed to do that.
Writing used to be a secret passion of mine. For years I wrote for no one but myself. In grade school, I used to write every single day. Everything was written from a first person point of view. It was easier to put myself into my character and tell it through their eyes, rather than from an outside perspective. Teachers tried to push me to other options, but I stuck to my style of writing. A teacher ended up getting incredibly frustrated with me and my writing choices. She outright told me, “If you’re not going to listen to me, then you should just stop writing all together.”
So, I did.
I stopped writing for others to read and only wrote my stories for myself. Whenever someone asked to see my work, I’d close my notebook so they couldn’t spare it a glance. Eventually I stopped writing all together and so much creativity was shut out. This was around the time I started to pick up drawing. Since I didn’t allow myself to write, I started to create drawings. My creativity needed an outlet, and drawing gave me that for years.
Cut to Middle School and I started writing short stories on my iPad every other day. I’d even work on these stories at home. My English teacher at the time noticed that my writing skills were high, especially when turning in assignments. I admitted to her that I wrote short stories sometimes. She encouraged me to write more and that she’d love to read my work someday. With a new found determination, I pumped out 6 short stories in the span of a month and nervously sent them to her. She loved them.
My English teacher continued to fill me with confidence and I fully started to write again in public, but I hadn't fully opened myself up to the idea of showing others my work. The fear of getting critiqued kept me from really expanding my writing.
Come Freshman year of high school. After writing a supposedly really good paper, my English teacher said she wanted to show me something. Before I knew it, I was being shown what I thought was a closet, but it was actually a classroom. The tour was short, as it was a tiny room, filled with cabinets, a big white board, and a desk that protruded from all four walls with about 16 computers. The center of the room had a single chair. This cramped room was where The Courier staff worked during the school day. She then said she was recommending me to join the class of Journalism. She said that I would fit right in.
Not only did I join Journalism, but I also joined Creative Writing, which easily became one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken. This is when I finally opened my writing to critiques, which truly made me a better writer.
Now here I am, Editor-in-Chief of The Courier, and I’m saying goodbye. I just want to say thank you to everyone who brought me here. Thank you, Ms. Huber for giving me the courage to pursue my passion. Thank you, Mrs. Moch for showing me the journalism room and pushing me to do something new. Thank you, Mrs. Weigress for teaching me how to write for the paper and just being a wonderful mentor. Thank you, Mr. Nieuwsma for showing me kindness when I was most vulnerable with my writing. You have no idea how much all of you mean to me, and how much you’ve changed my life for the better.
Thank you, Cambry Fyllesvold and Dylan Campell for being so incredibly patient and kind with me my first year on The Courier. You two were the role models I followed up until now and I will forever hold the memories of us at the old high school dear. Mya Johnson, thank you for pushing me to do more things that I wasn’t fully comfortable with, it really pushed my comfort zone further and helped me grow as a leader. Thank you, to my fellow staff members, both past and present. I will remember every single one of you.
My passion for writing was poured into every article I wrote. All 27 articles I have written are available on the website to read. Finally, thank you all for granting me this wonderful opportunity to do what I love: writing.
About The Writer: Moon Retzer, Editor-in-Chief
Moon Retzer is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2025-2026 Courier Staff. They have been writing for The Courier for 3 years. Moon loves to write, writing short stories in their free time. In addition, they love reading all kinds of the books and stories online. Moon's favorite articles to write are Opinion and Feature pieces.
Moon Retzer is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2025-2026 Courier Staff. They have been writing for The Courier for 3 years. Moon loves to write, writing short stories in their free time. In addition, they love reading all kinds of the books and stories online. Moon's favorite articles to write are Opinion and Feature pieces.
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