Soon-to-be retired Equinox editor issues a fond farewell

It sure has been a fast four years but I definitely cannot say I regret a single minute of it. Being a part of this publication for three years has definitely been a defining portion of my life. So much in fact, I can’t imagine how I would have turned out otherwise.

After a failed trial at computer science, journalism is where I wound up. It was there that I got a chance to practice my writing and hard reporting skills. So I went on my first assignment… a “Balls of Fury” movie review. Nice.

 In spite of that setback, I kept on writing, but this time for Student Life. When I came to college I was very quiet and a little on the shy and reserved side. I have really opened up since and I owe a lot of that to my work at The Equinox. I was forced to walk up to strangers and ask, “do you have a moment?” and inquire uncomfortably about foliage, greek life, politics, breakfast, senioritis and hotdogs.

Such a weekly ritual helped me open up over time and realize I can’t be worried about people turning me away or insulting me. You cannot be afraid to do what you have to do, especially if it is outside of your comfort zone. Such things can strengthen you as a person and I know they have done so for me.

This became even truer when I moved into my junior year and started writing for news every week. I quickly found myself talking to people I never would have imagined, about things that, at first, seemed uninteresting. But as I dug deeper I found a lot of fun and interesting traits and stories coming from the unlikeliest of interviews. Which brings me to the next thing I have learned: no matter who you are talking to, everyone has a story to tell. At one point I found myself at the Prime Roast for over an hour talking with a recent alumna of Keene State College who taught yoga about her experiences at an ashram. I also did a week-long interview with Gordi from the Zorn Dining Commons. We still talk. I think that’s a good sign.

Next thing I knew I was talking to professors from other colleges, the Keene city clerk, the mayor and even Mark Balch, “The Hotdog Guy!”

All of these meetings and chats with the big wigs of Keene and beyond definitely prepared me for life after graduation, but nothing prepared me for the actual act of leaving.

Don’t get me wrong, I am ready to move on and be done with the KSC chapter of my life, but the editorial board and staff of The Equinox have become my family over the past year. And before you say that is a cliché statement, consider this: I saw them more times than my roommates, and some weeks, my girlfriend. However, she and I did defy the “Equinox Curse,” which is supposed to destroy relationships over the course of the year.

In this Equinox family I have the trickster brothers who love their fart jokes, those cousins who don’t agree with each other, the sisters who talk about sex and food to the point where I never wanted either again and the father who reminds us, “This isn’t a playground.”

And somehow, at the end of the day, we watch out for each other, care about each other and joke with each other. If that isn’t family (a dysfunctional family yes, but a family nonetheless) then maybe I belong on Springer. And even though this newspaper has built me up as a better person, I would be nothing without all of my Equinox brothers and sisters. You are all great at what you do. Keep it up and keep in touch.

Chris Reynolds can be contacted at creynolds@keeneequinox.com.