The Cord was my first love.
I never experienced love quite like this before. It was the kind that took your breath away. Week in and week out I remember the happiness from seeing it on stands, turning to the page my article was plastered on. The amount of time we spent together grew. The passion grew. Eventually, it was love.
When I first met The Cord, it would help me find solace in writing about sports. But it wasn’t just the potential that caught my eye. It was the audience. The methodology. The articulate detail. The people. The possibilities. It was an endless abyss that needed to be conquered.
And every year, the love grew. I didn’t want to show it at first, but I suppose it was hard to hide. I spent all of my time with The Cord. I travelled with its best interest in mind, I wrote with the desire for perfection in every word. The brand was my brand. It was what I possessed and what I showed to the world.
But it wasn’t the easiest of relationships. It was difficult, and at times, we almost broke up. I poured everything my body had into this relationship. For what? An article that would last a week? For something that didn’t give me anything in return? How selfish.
But this love was worth fighting for. It was something I couldn’t live without. The Cord taught me so much more than I could ever fathom — sure, I have skills to get me through my career. But that’s not what I’ll remember.
The Cord taught me patience. It taught me to trust people. It taught me to work with people smarter than me. It taught me not everything has to be rooted in perfectionism. It taught me it’s okay to admit your mistakes.
I owe my first love a lot. It’ll be the place I first saw my name published. It’ll be the place I found some of my best friends and the place I combatted many of my issues with mental illness.
I love The Cord not because of what it can provide on a tangible level, but what it stands for.
But now, I am breaking up with The Cord after five years of blood — literally, I fell down the stairs — sweat and tears. I’m breaking up with The Cord to pursue everything The Cord has provided me — an internship at The Globe and Mail, a profound love for what journalism stands for and everything I am now confident to do.
It’ll be the hardest break up I will ever go through and even though we’ll never be together again, I will always be thankful for the time we had together.
Thank you, dear student newspaper, for giving me everything and more.
