Here at The Badger Herald, we have a saying — BH4LYFE. This short, purposefully misspelled saying sums up the Herald experience. It reminds you that no matter how frustrated, tired or completely done you are, you will be at the office the next day to do it all over again because The Badger Herald is your family.

The Badger Herald has always been a family affair for me — my parents met at The Badger Herald in the 1980s. Growing up as a child of two Herald alumni, there wasn’t much hesitation when choosing which of the two student newspapers to write for my freshman year. As my dad put it, “You don’t have to write for the Herald, but you will not write for that Cardinal rag.”

My parents started seeing each other the night the first daily edition of The Badger Herald went to print. At the time, daily production was a bold leap forward. Nearly 30 years later, The Badger Herald continues to look to the future with its weekly edition. In this sense, as much as I have been able to contribute to my personal family’s legacy as a second generation Heralder, there is a greater Herald legacy of forward-thinking experimentation.

As I wrote earlier in the semester, I went through a lot at the beginning of this year. In a fit of tears, I once compared it to trying to swim through an ocean during a storm. I would like to thank the Herald for being my life raft — I’m pretty sure I would have drowned without it.

Stick it to stigma: There’s nothing crazy about mental crises

I can promise journalism is not dead. If it were, Heralders would have gotten a lot more sleep this semester. I would be lying if I said the Herald was easy, but I would also be lying if I said it wasn’t worth it.

Being the opinionated person I am, I usually (read: always) have something to say. But as I leave the opinion desk behind, for once, I find myself at a loss for words.

Madeline Sweitzer ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science, history and intending to major in journalism.