Thomas McKenna, Editor in Chief

I should have chucked my phone off the top of Central Hall when I had the chance. Yes, I had some good reasons for wanting more than the basic text-and-call functions. As City News editor last year and ringleader this year, I used it to text and email with sources, reporters, and other editors quickly. A smartphone can record interviews and take photos in the wild or run a quick Google search before you talk to the mayor. But when I wasn’t doing any of these very particular things, I should have found some alternative — a dumbphone, a restrictive app, or even just a phone-free Sunday. College is for deep work and deep thinking. When it’s time to read or write or even talk to a friend, we need focus. But even when we’re not doing anything, we need to be bored. Our best ideas — those shower thoughts — come when we’re doing nothing. But now I’m headed to the real-world, and a full-time journalist needs a smartphone. Shucks.

Moira Gleason, Executive Editor

I wish I had taken myself less seriously. Freshman year, you could have called me a try-hard. I closed down the library at 1 a.m. every night, charted out a double major and double minor in my head, and thought my chances of gainful employment were toast when Dr. Lindley gave me a “C” on a Great Books paper. The work paid off, but I hated every moment. Then, some time during junior year, I got humbled and I fell in love. Not in a ring-by-spring kind of way, but with the work and the books and the people. That’s when I saw the gap between studying and living start to close. As I relaxed my expectations, ideas from class and office hours wove their way into my life and my friendships and my prayer. I still tried hard, but I laughed more. Looking back, the people I have admired most during my time here know how to take their work seriously without taking themselves too seriously. I wish I had known sooner that was an option.

Anna Broussard, Design Editor

I should’ve gone to more office hours. My professors, my adviser, and my instructors set my education apart. The small class sizes are a benefit, but nothing beats an hour in a professor’s office when the weekly readings didn’t come up once. As Hillsdale comes to an end, I am most sad to leave behind the wealth of knowledge from the individuals who have committed themselves to helping me grow in my education and as a person. The accomplishment I will feel on May 9 is exciting, but I could hardly say it is just mine — it is my professors’ too. Another one of their students finished Hillsdale through their guidance and genuine love of teaching. So if I could do it all again, I would sit with my professors more and express my gratitude more sincerely. And particularly to Mr. Miller and Mrs. Servold — thank you. 

Catherine Maxwell, Senior Editor

I would visit more churches as a freshman. I grew up non-denominational, and when I arrived on campus, I had already decided I would attend Holy Trinity Anglican; I didn’t try anything else other than College Baptist. Midway through my sophomore year, I began visiting other churches while Holy Trinity underwent some renovations, and I really enjoyed seeing where and how my friends worshipped. After visiting a few churches, I ended up attending Hillsdale United Brethren for the rest of my time at college. It’s important to settle in at a church. Constantly bouncing around isn’t conducive to commitment. But college is perhaps the only time I’ll live near 30-odd churches and know people who attend most of them. Even though I didn’t visit as many as I’d have liked, I’m thankful for the opportunities I had to experience forms of Christianity different than my own.

Caroline Kurt, Opinions Editor

There are little things I would’ve done differently: Drink more, dance more. Spend more time on porches, more time with my fiancé, more time calling my brothers. But above all, I wish I’d spent more time in prayer. I’m too quick to excuse myself from that commitment, forgetting that nothing I do here matters in the slightest unless it’s drawing me closer to God. The Lord has worked many miracles through my time at Hillsdale, which is why it’s so hard to come up with regrets. But I should never have been too busy for prayer. 

Ty Ruddy, Culture Editor

I didn’t travel enough during my time here. Outside of breaks and being home, I visited Ann Arbor twice and Detroit once. I once drove halfway to Swayzee, Indiana, before turning around. We are busy here at Hillsdale, but I wish I would have made more time for weekend side quests. I’d go to Chicago and Columbus for sure. And I would have liked a long weekend in D.C. As a lifelong Midwesterner, I give rural Michigan a hard time because there’s so little to do. I have only myself to blame because I never sought cities or other nearby hotspots to flee the corn. Although there’s beauty in that, too.

Tayte Christensen, Features Editor

As I prepare to graduate, I fear I won’t remember enough about my college days. Sure, I’ll remember the landmark events, but I’m fearful of forgetting quotidian life and funny moments that made me laugh from day to day. Throughout my four years, I wish I would have taken time to journal consistently. I was a dedicated journaler my freshman year, and I now reap the benefits as I skim through my records of funny interactions and thoughts about certain situations. Moments I otherwise would have forgotten about are jotted on the pages of my notebook. I laugh at the silly freshman I was and realize how much I’ve grown since then. But from sophomore year onward, the entries are few and far between. I wish they weren’t. We’re only given four years of college, and they’re full of memories we’ll look back on with fondness, if we can remember them.

Christina Lewis, Assistant Editor

I would change how I studied for tests. As a freshman, I was so focused on memorizing as much information as possible that I didn’t always take the time to understand it. Over time, I realized that making connections — between ideas, texts, and classes — was far more valuable than my ability to recall facts that I would forget right after my test. If I could go back, I would tell my freshman self to prioritize understanding. At the same time, I know I only learned this through trial and error, so I’m grateful that after more than 12 years in school, I finally know how to study well.

Adriana Azarian, Assistant Editor

I wish I’d made time for an art class. I always intended to take one once I had the time or my class schedule lined up just so, but that never happened. Let this be a lesson to the underclassmen: If you can help it, never become so busy you’re unable to take classes you enjoy or engage in the hobbies you love. I always liked sketching as an amateur in my spare time, and I think I would’ve appreciated making time for artistic guidance and non-academic work. But it’s OK, I’ll get to it after college eventually. 

Christian Papillon, Assistant Editor

Although I have few regrets about my time at Hillsdale, if I could start over, I would have gotten more involved in campus life sooner. During my first semester, I spent a large amount of my time in class or in my dorm. I did not realize how fleeting my time at Hillsdale would be. I am grateful that I decided to dedicate more time to friends and campus activities before it was too late. Ironically, even though I had more credits and was spending more time in other campus events, my grades improved after my first semester. I will look back on my time at Hillsdale fondly and am glad that I tried to make the most of it.

Lewis Thune, D.C. Correspondent

People are generally surprised to learn I’m a Calvinist. Well, marvel no more: I do not believe in ifs or woulds. My time here has shown me how my actions and inactions — especially those I regret — have shaped me and those around me in ways no man (me least of all) will ever fully understand. But more importantly, it has taught me to be OK with that. We are all of us being reborn and remade in the Spirit, and I don’t always have to know how. At Hillsdale, I (like Joseph’s brothers) got a few minute glimpses of God using my failures to his ends. I trust he is doing the same even where I do not, cannot, and will not see it.