Well, here we are at the end of another year. Time to look back, take stock and mock everything without mercy for tomorrow there will be no letters from irate readers to deal with, no phone calls from perturbed administrators to return and virtually no consequences. What to do, what to do? I feel like Bill Murray at the beginning of “Groundhog Day.”

Well, what did we learn this year? I don’t know about you, but we at the Daily learned that no matter what we say or do, somebody is going to have a problem with it.

I learned that I really like being called a nazi and a communist all in the same day by people who just disagree with me. It was a little confusing at first, but after a while, it was nothing but a buzz. You have to learn how to thrive on being insulted in the most outrageous manner possible.

People aren’t very smart overall, and most of us are prone to hyperbole (that’s another way to say exaggeration for the freshmen).

If both sides call you biased and unprofessional, you are probably doing a good job. Most people who accuse you of bias are biased themselves and if they label you their enemy, it’s like a thumbs up from Roger Ebert.

This semester was full of unqualified raves. We learned that if you give one page to LGBT issues, you will spend the next three weeks listening to people argue about how you shove “gayness” in their faces in spite of the fact that letter writers keep these things alive longer than we ever could.

Few take the time out of their hate-filled diatribes to feel guilty about turning the tables. We learn this lesson every semester and will continue to repeat it until hating homosexuals or “disagreeing with their lifestyle choice” is as unacceptable as disagreeing with the lifestyle choice made by African-Americans, Jews and Indians. For that, we make no apologies.

Personally, I have done my share of columns in support of gay rights, but that didn’t stop me from getting letters attacking me for promoting homophobia because of the one U-WIRE column I ran about a heterosexual being beaten to death by gay-bashers.

So, I learned that no matter how much you put yourself on the line for someone’s cause, they will make you their judas goat in a heartbeat. Working without thanks is essential.

On the other side of things, those people who come up to you and tell you how much they’ve enjoyed and appreciated your efforts are worth their weight in gold. For everyone I ever ran into who took the time to say “good job,” thanks for making it all worthwhile.

I’ve written at least five columns about being Indian, but apparently I was still the epitome of white racism because arts and entertainment ran a listing in “On the Tube” for a movie about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Heming.

Given that I have no control over A&E and wouldn’t suppress a TV listing combined with the fact that I’m Indian and hence one of the oppressed masses, I can only say we should all make a better effort to know what the hell it is we are talking about before going on a rant.

I learned that no matter how much effort you put into making a decent opinion section, people still just want Quick-Es. Sorry if you liked them, but if you really liked them, you would have sent more than nine per day. So really, didn’t we all kill the Quick-Es?

The people I work with at the Daily are some of the most talented and professional people I have ever worked with of any age. Not only do they put out a quality paper five days a week, they do it while taking classes, working a second job and under the watchful eye of a spiteful campus looking for every mistake, no matter how inconsequential. Talk about performance anxiety.

I have learned that I can take unfair criticism all day long and even revel in it, but when it comes to the people I work with, I could throw down in a second.

Journalism is a hard gig. Being a part of the Fourth Estate is an honor and a responsibility that leaves you questioning your assumptions on a daily basis. Who watches the watchmen? We do, baby. Oh, yeah.

Good journalism isn’t about throwing out unverified facts and innuendo. You can’t do your job with unfounded rumor. You might hate the administration, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to fling baseless accusations in their face without backing it up.

Putting your name on a letter to the editor or a petition is the least you can do to back your story.

It takes one person to believe in you for your entire life to change. Don’t be afraid to be that one person for someone else. Don’t dismiss someone out-of-hand because they don’t fit the preconceived notions in your head.

Doing what you love is the only way to spend your life. Why work for the Man if the Man ain’t you?

Good friends are more important than money. Anyone who tells you different has plenty of money and no friends.

Figure out what you want early on in life and work at it like you are damn well entitled to it, because, in the end, it is as much yours as it is anyone else’s.

Listen to Journey. Everything you need to know about life is in there. If it’s not, you don’t need it. And for God’s sake, wear a condom.

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Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs. He is opinion editor of the Daily. Good luck!