An obsessively close reading of leaving The Miami Student

A year and a half ago, I wrote an exhaustive breakdown of AMC Theatres’ promotional video featuring Nicole Kidman. I was a semester into my time with The Miami Student, still learning the ropes and finding my voice as a writer at the paper.

“We come to this place for magic,” Kidman said before almost every film I saw in theaters the last two years.

Now, both me and Kidman have gone through some changes.

On March 1, AMC introduced a new pre-roll to run before films, as well as an updated set of Kidman videos. These new 30-second versions are primarily cut using footage from the original shoot with some new voiceover added over top. Unfortunately, unlike the first, there isn’t much to analyze here beyond the choice to replace the films showcased with newer releases like “Elvis” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

That said, this change meets me at my own personal moment of transition.

In the time since writing my article about Kidman’s ad, I have aged two years, become entertainment editor at The Student, written a whole lot more and am now passing my title onto the next stewards of the paper. I’ve made close friends, had a lot of laughs in the newsroom, earned the eternal nickname of “Beece Bollowell” and learned a lot about myself as both a writer and a person.

At the same time, however, it feels like not much has changed.

Despite stepping down as editor, I’m still some distance away from graduating, and I end another term preparing to watch my friends receive their diplomas and move on to great things without me next to them. I’ve also been working through some significant mental health struggles which have dealt a severe blow to my ability to be as productive as I was in the past.

But no matter how hard things may have gotten, or how stagnant things can feel, one constant remains: that indescribable feeling I get when walking into the newsroom.

TMS may not have a movie theater showing “La La Land” (yet), but there’s a similar magic I feel when I’m with my fellow writers and editors. Everyone is so passionate about what they do, so dedicated to putting out quality student journalism about subjects they care about, and doing so with wit and skill.

Whenever I think about my favorite pieces my friends have written — Luke Macy’s lament on the disappearance of physical media, Devin Ankeney’s love letter to Miami University, Sean Scott’s account of experiencing a Taylor Swift concert from outside the stadium — it reminds me of how lucky I am to call them my friends.

And the same is true about everyone on staff. Great work is coming out of TMS every day, and I’m constantly impressed by both fourth-year veterans and first-year newcomers. It’s easy to feel like the future of the paper is in good hands.

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So what about my future?

My time with TMS has left me not just entertained, but reborn. I’m a better writer and editor, and I’ve learned to care about things I may not have considered before. Most importantly though, I’m a better person.

There have been hardships, but no matter how bad of a day I’m having, heartbreak feels good when it’s in a place like the newsroom.

Thank you, The Miami Student, and everyone who calls it home. In my parting words, I’d like to offer a new slogan inspired by the woman who so inspires me.

The Miami Student: We make people better.

hollowrr@miamioh.edu

@HollowCentral