JILLIAN COLLETT | editor-in-chief

As of the 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, I will no longer be the Editor-in-Chief of The Clause.

I was walking from my apartment to east campus the other day, and I saw a girl stop and smell the roses. No, literally. She stopped to smell the roses that hang over the gate onto the sidewalk near the Chapel Programs office. I thought to myself, “Wow. It must be nice to stop and appreciate the little things.”

I could say that making the decision to step down was a difficult one. And in some ways, actually going through the motions was an emotional process.

The friendships I have made with the people on both the editorial staff and the writing staff will be irreplaceable. I can say with conviction how in love I am each of the staff writers.

One of my favorite things about my job was the fact that I had the ability to work with the younger writers – the freshmen and sophomores who were just coming into the major, unsure of their direction – making sure that they felt valued and worthwhile, and helping them in any way that I was able. And I will miss being able to do that. I will miss having that influence on them.

But at the same time, the decision to step down was probably the best one I have made so far this semester, and I know that when I look back on this choice in the future, I won’t have that dreaded feeling of regret.

The most important things in my life are my relationships. The friends that I have... it is seriously impossible for me to express what they mean to me. Last year, if you had asked anyone I knew, they would tell you that I would do anything, drop anything, for the people I love most.

This semester things have been different. I have been stretching myself too thin. I have been so stressed that I have literally been losing my hair. My mind has been so full and my body so unable to relax that my roommate gets woken up by the loud conversations I have in my sleep.

I never get to see Erica, one of my best friends, who I have known since day one of freshman year.

I don’t really get to spend much quality time with any of my freshman guys from Trinity that bug me all the time for cigarettes.

I am involved in a church plant, and I don’t get to devote enough of my time to that process. And my family – I can’t even begin to talk about how many times I haven’t been able to go home this semester.

This kind of stuff? It is unacceptable. I am stressed, I am overwhelmed, and I am unhappy – not the way I want to spend my senior year.

The new Editor-in-Chief, Crissa Nelson, is probably one of the most amazing people on our staff. Her ability to see the good, to point a spotlight on injustice, and her passion for journalism will be a huge asset to the paper, and I know she will far surpass anything I have done this semester.

As for me...I am not so sure what next semester holds. But you can bet that every time I walk from my apartment to east campus, I will have time to stop and smell the roses.