There’s nothing finer than being praised for your work and having your ego stroked. And since I officially started writing for Technician a little more than a year ago, I’ve been stroked plenty by loyal readers. I can’t begin to count all the times one of you has approached me to ask, “Hey, are you that guy who writes for the paper? I really liked your last column about — ummm — that thing.”

For the last year I have tremendously enjoyed being the guy who wrote the column about that thing you really liked but can’t remember — and I’m going to miss it. But this will be my last appearance in Technician before I graduate and take my talents to the workforce, degree in hand. By which I mean sit on my parents’ couch in my underwear with one arm around a tub of vanilla bean ice-cream and the other around a bag of Cheetos (nothing absorbs tears better than cheese dust).

I’ve never been good at goodbyes, so in order to give you the sincerest, most heartfelt goodbye — I read farewell columns by other writers in The Daily Tar Heel (UNC-CH’s newspaper) and The Chronicle (Duke’s publication) so I could copy them.

I found that writers usually let readers know in which significant place they wrote their columns — for example, in front of their usual iMac in the news office before deadline, or in an earthy coffee shop near campus — places that get the sentimental juices flowing.

So here it goes — as I sit in bed beside a half-eaten bowl of oatmeal, wearing only boxers and a sweater, I can’t help but think about all of the … no, this is dumb.

I’m happy to leave N.C. State and Technician because I have fond memories of both to take with me. But being a somewhat argumentative person, I will miss my column space. 

Prior to joining Viewpoint, I had never upset Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals, LGBT students, allies and anti-gay readers, gun-toters and gun control advocates. But as a columnist, I upset them all.

There are people who hate me because they think I’m the most anachronistic traditionalist Republican — and others who hate me for being an unreasonable flaming liberal.

Now that I’m leaving, it’s time to set the record straight — I do not hate gay people. Sarcasm is a good way to talk to people on both sides of the political fence, and an even better way to piss them off.

But what I’ve enjoyed most is seeing and hearing students and faculty read Technician — on buses, at the dining halls and before (and sometimes during) class — and continue the conversations beyond the points of the stories.

It has been a truly stimulating experience — intellectually, I mean. Someone asked me if being Viewpoint Editor was worth the long edit nights, skipped classes and stress. My honest answer is yes — a thousand times yes. My editorship taught me things I would have never learned from a textbook — things I’ll remember when I leave. 

Speaking of leaving …