I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this moment. After 145 issues, seven long months and hundreds of hours in the newsroom, it’s so gratifying to write my final column.

It’s really quite an accomplishment for me. It means the school year is nearly complete. It means I don’t have to feel guilty anymore when I go to Sara, the opinion editor, an hour after my column was supposed to be written and tell her I didn’t write one.

It means I’ve survived the year without being fired, sued for libel or dismissed from school for skipping too many classes.

Basically, it means I’ll have a life again.

So now that I’m down to my last column, I’ve been racking my brain to come up with some great way to retire. I thought I should go out in a blaze of glory. Write something you all would remember for years to come. Give some advice and wisdom that would change your lives.

But, as usual, it’s 8:45 p.m., the column was due nearly six hours ago, and I really don’t have much to write about.

So, my only goal is to keep from writing the typical end-of-the-year column, which is so common in college newspapers.

At one point I thought about writing the “All the wonderful things I learned this year and how my mistakes have made me a better person” column.

But, let’s face it, that idea is overused, and it’s also pretty lame.

I also really don’t care to remember those bleak (notice I didn’t say black) days at the Daily. And I certainly don’t want to remind those of you who just might have missed them about the one or two mistakes or errors that have been in the paper this year.

I considered writing the “To all the readers who have criticized me, you can all go to hell” column. As tempting as it was, I realized it wouldn’t be very wise to piss off a bunch of people who I have to interact with for one more semester.

Besides, who has the time or space to list all the people who haven’t liked my columns or decisions? (Remember the cute photo of two young men kissing at the Campanile? Or what about our coverage of The September 29th Movement?)

Ahhh, the memories. Anyway, like I said, I don’t want to focus on the bad times.

So then I considered writing “I’ve learned so much this year, and you should really read about it” column.

Unfortunately, I don’t honestly think any of you care about how important it is to triple-check all photographs to make sure the cutlines don’t have any false information in them. Nor do any of you really want to hear about the great care and humility that is needed to speak with irate readers who are upset about a terrible error that has occurred in the cutline below a front page photograph.

Despite these bad times, I can still say that being the editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I might joke about the criticisms and the disgruntled readers, but each one of them has made me evaluate my job performance. And, although very grudgingly most times, I have appreciated the feedback.

Above all else, though, I’ve appreciated the hundreds of hours my staff of editors, reporters, photographers, columnists and Web page personnel have put into this newspaper. When the last issue of the Daily is printed, it will be hard to say good-bye to these people who have been my family for the past year.

Then again, I really am ready to leave, so I doubt I’ll shed too many tears.

There are a few people at the Daily I would like to publicly thank.

I owe a lot to Tara Deering, the head news editor, who has given up her very busy social life to stay at the Daily with me until about 11:30 each night. Although, I’ve heard many of ISU’s athletes are getting a lot more studying done now that Tara’s no longer free for dates.

She’s next year’s editor in chief, and I wish her the best of luck. I also wish all of you who call her up to complain the best of luck, too.

Rhaason Mitchell, who was managing editor last semester, has also been one of my greatest confidantes and friends. When he’s not talking to one of his many girlfriends, I can always count on Rhaason to listen to my troubles and offer his advice.

And even though I fight with Ian McInroy, the design/photo editor, at least 10 times a day, he’s been a lifesaver this year. When he’s not worrying about bleaching his hair or his white T-shirts, I can always count on Ian to cheer me up and make me laugh.

I want to thank Corey Moss for his countless hours of work at the Daily this year. You know him as the Arts and Entertainment editor, and I know him as the perfectionist-from-hell. Without his anal-retentive attitude for catching the errors, the Daily would have been in a much sorrier state.

I wish I could thank all of you, but I’m out of insults and space. I appreciate everyone who has read the Daily this year and looked to it for their news and entertainment. I am very fortunate to have had such a wonderful staff of people to work with, and I will miss bossing you all around, especially our super-reporter Kate Kompas, who we will no longer be able to make fun of once she is classified as a sophomore.

Oh, one more person, thanks to Shawn, who has put up with a grouchy, stressed-out girlfriend who he only gets to see after 11:30 each night.

It’s been a great year.

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Keesia Wirt is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Panora. She is editor in chief of the Daily.