Time to say goodbye
he Bible, in Ecclesiastes, indicates that there is a time for everything. This week, it is my time to say goodbye.
I have mixed feelings about leaving The Rep. I am excited about new opportunities and challenges, but I am extremely sad about leaving a special publication which has been part of my life for just over 25 years.
It has been two-and-a-half decades filled with amazing stories. I have been so utterly privileged to have shared people’s dreams, hopes, achievements and ambitions with them. I have witnessed tragedies and triumphs, watched people come and go and I have been honoured to have shared in their lives along the way.
I have met leaders on national, provincial and local level over the years and I have engaged with people from every walk of life. Everyone has taught me something. I have gained perspective, broadened my horizons and I have learnt that even disagreement over something can enrich my life. I have learnt to value and treasure diversity all the more and I hope to encourage the view that this country should belong to all who live in it, regardless of race, gender or creed, in the future.
Journalism is a strange animal – but an interesting one.
TNo day is the same and one may be called upon to visit a horror bus crash and witness the birth of triplets in one day. If anything, this is an occupation which signifies the cyclical nature and the unpredictability of life.
I have found kindness – often undeserved – in the most unexpected places and I have witnessed humble people make the most amazing difference in the world they live in, purely by virtue of compassion for others. That, I think, is what I will miss the most.
I hope that through the years I have made a positive contribution to our community. As always, I think I could have done more and I hope to do so in the future.
As I leave the office for the last time today, I want to thank you all – every single person I have met along the way over the past 25 years – from my fellow employees to those who trusted The Rep with their stories, to the contributors to the paper, to the police and the other spokespersons. I am so exceptionally grateful for the impact you’ve had on my life. I hope we meet again.
Until then, I will leave you with a quote from one of my favourites, the wise Winnie the Pooh: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”