Goodnight, sweet prince. You served me well.

Goodnight, sweet prince. You served me well for more than one year at the Banner-Herald.

It started to hit me when I turned off my computer for the last time at the Athens Banner-Herald. Rarely did I turn it off before (mostly logged out), but it felt right.

Once I walked out the door and it shut behind me, the realization hit like a truck.

That very well could have been my final day in newspapers. Not for the week. Not for the month — but for life. Nearly eight years in the business and then cold turkey.

What I felt wasn’t remorse, because I accomplished what I set out to do. My first and only goal that I can remember in journalism was to become a college beat writer by the time I was 25. I accomplished that when I accepted my second full-time job at the ripe age of 22.

I grew exponentially — not only as a worker, but as a person — from the time I started my foray into journalism with the Connecticut Valley Spectator in New Hampshire its endpoint at the Banner-Herald. In between, the now-defunct Bar Harbor Times in Maine and the San Marcos Daily Record in Texas (where I achieved that aforementioned goal) served as strong launching pads.

Journalism will always have my heart but I knew there was something out there for me, which is why I looked elsewhere and eventually found my current job with the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association.

And what is life without adventure? Thanks to journalism I’ve been able to live in three states and the skills I honed in Texas led me on a path to New Orleans. Plus, those skills I honed, which included my multimedia chops and page design, among others, allowed me to become a versatile worker who can plug and play anywhere.

Near the end of my run in Athens, I thought I put out some good work. Here are two designs I thought turned out really well. It’s funny how you hit a stride at the end.