This will be the final edition of “Mike’s Musings.”
My last day with the Campbell River Mirror will be May 28.
These are bittersweet things for me to say. My identity for the past 11 years has been fairly intrinsically tied to the fact that I am a newspaper journalist. In two weeks or so, that all changes.
So I am going to take the opportunity to speak on some of the many lessons I’ve learned over my time doing this, and hope you’ll stick with me while I, once again, try to figure some things out while I put words on a page.
The first, and probably most important lesson I’ll be taking away from my time in journalism is humility.
There have been times I’ve gotten something wrong.
I’ve been forced to reconsider things I previously held as absolutes.
But it’s okay to be wrong, admit that to yourself and others and learn from your mistakes. In fact, it’s the best way to learn anything, I think.
It’s also okay to change your mind when presented with information that contradicts your previously held opinions. In fact, it’s the way you formed those opinions in the first place, wasn’t it? When you initially formed an opinion about something, it was because you were presented with information. It’s okay – actually, it’s imperative – that subsequent information impacts what you think you already know.
The second thing I’ve learned is that you can’t live your life avoiding change. It is, as they say, “the only constant,” so why not look for the good in it? Or at least look for the potential benefits when change rears its head instead of the possible negatives.
Oh, here he goes, preaching optimism again. Give it up, Davies. Stop pretending all change is a good thing as you walk out the door and head out on your new adventures. Who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself?
You’re right. Not all change ends up being positive.
But what’s the point of assuming it won’t? Why live your life being negative?
Anyway, that’s all the soapboxing I have in me for today. I’ll move on.
I want to spend what little room I have left on this page being thankful.
I’d like to start by thanking the Campbell River Mirror for giving me the opportunity seven years ago to return to a city I love and take a job in the career I’d chosen.
I may be walking out the door for the final time at the end of the day on the 28th, but I will never forget that this is the company that provided me the job that allowed me to set down a secure foundation here in Campbell River after many years of not having one anywhere.
I’d also like to thank everyone in this wonderful community who trusted me to help them tell their stories – the good and the bad – and help them share the things they love with the world through my words and images.
After a quick calculation based on approximations, I’ve determined that I’ve written somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 stories for this newspaper and taken well over 5,000 photographs of things happening in this community.
And while I won’t lie and say that “I’ve loved every minute of it,” I will say that it has been an honour and a privilege. I’ve made lifelong friends through this job and have been positively, permanently changed for the better by some of the stories I’ve heard and had the opportunity to tell.
And know that while I’m leaving the Mirror, I’m not leaving the community.
I will be moving on to other endeavours that will hopefully help continue to make Campbell River a better place to live than it already is, and I’m sure you’ll see me around.
The beard is hard to miss.
miked@campbellrivermirror.com
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