When I began writing for the Tribune, I was given certain responsibilities: to express myself clearly, to write on issues that interested students, and to comment on the events occurring around me.

After my first column, I realized that the thing I loved most—writing—was much harder than it seemed. The standards were higher, the demands were tougher, and the process was challenging. But I loved it. I loved the feeling of taking a pen to the piece of paper, searching for the right words that I needed to say. When I found them, it was a gasp of fresh air, a feeling of completeness, as if I had been able to reflect my true self in just 500 words.

But challenges remained. The hardest thing about being a columnist was never really meeting my readers face to face. I communicated with you through email, through the website, and, of course, through my articles, but I rarely had the opportunity to know the people behind their names. It’s hard to grapple with the fact that perhaps you are writing to a captive audience of 10,000 students and perhaps you are writing to no one. It begs the question: who are the McGill students I wish to represent? Am I even supposed to represent them? If I am, how do I do so without even meeting them?

I began this year believing that my job was to write about the issues I thought students cared about, issues that a good “representative” of the student body should care about. Throughout the year, I tried my best to find out what these issues were: Plagiarism? The job search? McGill services? The Egyptian revolution? I thought this year was about searching for a cause, searching for something that would cause me to be seen as a good representative of you. Only later did I realize this year was about more than just you and me.

I always enjoyed reading newspapers and it slowly became evident to me that the information I received in the news was shaping my outlook on world events, politics, and economics. The newspaper I read was the frame through which I created my own thoughts, the lenses I looked through before coming to my own conclusions. The writers of these newspaper articles don’t just write to me and you, they write to an audience of citizens, world leaders, the old, the young, rich and poor, and tell their story. They create a network of stories that come together and shape the way we analyze the world.

That understanding helped me realize my task as a columnist. It wasn’t simply to engage with readers, but also to shape the campus conversation and dialogue. It was not only to express my thoughts or try my best to represent yours, but to develop a shared story with you. So, what story have we created here?

I think the story we’ve written is the story of a student—it could be any student—striving to find a voice in a campus of 30,000 diverse voices. A story of a student who wishes to fulfill all her dreams. A story of an individual who believes that the path to action begins with expressing yourself.  

Throughout this past year, I’ve hoped to share a bit of myself in the hopes that it encourages other students to share theirs. Thanks for taking this journey with me and I look forward to discovering more of this story.