“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ~ Maya Angelou

We all have a path, a journey we take through life. Some are relatively direct, with few bumps and curves along the way; others prove far more winding and full of detours. In the end, though, I believe we all reach the destination we are meant to. Eventually. 

I recently had the opportunity to speak to a small group of high school students with an interest in writing during a one-week digital journalism camp held at Hofstra University. Not quite sure what to expect, I brought samples of our newspaper and magazine, along with a brief bio of myself, my career trajectory thus far, and a handful of anecdotes to share with the group. As it turned out, all that information filled up precisely ten minutes of what was to be a nearly hourlong presentation. 

“I became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world.” ~ Henry Luce

As I sit here at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon composing my thoughts for this column, one can’t help but reflect upon the latest in a long line of tragic shootings to touch the nation, this time at the headquarters of the Capital Gazette, an Annapolis newspaper founded in 1727. Among the five fatalities were veteran editors, writers and reporters, as well as a sales assistant to the staff. To think that a random act of violence on an otherwise average day could at once shatter so many lives is quite jarring. 

As I write these words, the Class of 2018 prepares to march onto the old Kienle Field at Lindenhurst Middle School to the familiar strains of Pomp & Circumstance. In just a few short hours, they will embark on the next chapter of their lives, as proud alumni of Lindy High, the last dozen or so years of schooling an already-fading memory.