There is something inherently strange about goodbyes. It’s something I’ve been grappling with quite a bit during my last few weeks at UCSB.

My time here has gracefully come to an end, and now I must throw myself into the world and say goodbye to this home. I’m a little confused by it all, to be honest; how do four years go by so quickly?

Courtesy of Kenneth Song

As I tell everyone these days, I was eager to transfer from UCSB after my first quarter. I was unhappy, and I didn’t have a place to call home on campus or in Isla Vista.

It’s funny how things change.

I’ve been struck with flashbacks to specific moments at UCSB — like when my roommate, Raechel, and I ran around the lagoon for the first time freshman year, or when I canoed down the Colorado River with the Adventure Programs, or even when I walked through I.V. on one particular Saturday morning, soaking in the pure, hungover magic of it all.

Over the years, these are the moments that have made me love UCSB, but I can’t tell you enough how much stepping into the Nexus office for the first time changed my life.

It’s a dark, cold office with too much stale coffee but the perfect amount of old newspapers and dusty books. The people are warm and intelligent, without fail, every passing year and with each new class.

The Nexus also does this thing that I love: It preserves memories and moments with every photo, every article and every Thursday print issue. And I hope the Nexus continues to be an emblem for our community, long after I’m gone and I am only left with the memories.

The Nexus and the people I have met during my time on staff have shaped the person I am today, but the Nexus continues to grow itself. I encourage you to be patient as Nexites learn more about themselves and the kind of journalists they want to be.

I know we don’t always get it right. We won’t always get it right. It is our job as storytellers to listen to our community and fellow students to ensure that the history we’re preserving is accurate, its people accountable for their actions.

Jorge Mercado, the next editor in chief, is kind and capable, and will slip a sports reference into most any conversation, if given the opportunity. I hope you pop into his office to chat — his door is always open.

Goodbyes are strange, but reporting on our community for the Nexus has assured me that I can always reflect on our shared moments documented in archives and stamped onto history. Maybe it’s not even goodbye, after all, its merely the passing of one era and on to the next.

Thank you to every interviewee, to the dear Nexus, to my best friends and #roommate4life. And to you, UCSB, thanks for making me want to stick around.

A version of this article appeared on p.3 of the June 7 print edition of the Daily Nexus.