Wenyan Deng ‘15 began writing as an Opinions writer, before taking on the positions of Assistant Opinions Editor, Opinions Editor and Features Editor.
The experience of being an editor on The News — and a student at Wellesley in general — has been, to put it mildly, sometimes stressful. At the same time, it is certainly one of the best times I have ever had. The people I met and the things I learned as a writer and editor are definitely valuable, but it is the human connections, the friendships and the feeling of being a part of a larger family when I am with my cohort of Newsies and friends at Wellesley that I have cherished most.
This is why, even as my thesis consumed the better part of me in senior spring, coming back and spending time with my former colleagues and life-long friends on the News has always proven to be a rare and refreshingly happy escape from the arduous trek of academic writing. Being with them—especially Sara, Nicole, Sravanti, Kily, and Grace—has always made me feel brighter and more sanguine in my last few months at this beautiful place.
If given the choice, I would happily go through the long nights spent waiting for copy edits in the Newsroom, the Tuesday afternoons worrying over page layout in Clapp, and the Sunday mornings scrambling to get articles and edits done again, simply for the fun my fellow Newsies brought to me. I can say without a doubt that these four years are four of the best ones in my life. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the News.
It is, therefore, tough to write this short blurb, which is supposed to say farewell, not only to Wellesley, but also to the News. God forbid (or not), I am graduating, and as reluctant as I am to admit it, I am saying goodbye to the News and to Wellesley as I move on in life. But in another sense, the News will remain a part of me forever, not just because of the skills I learned and the memories I made, but also because it is something that connects all the Newsies to each other. In the way, our common Wellesley experience ties us together in siblinghood. I, at least, find it difficult to break away from this bond.
As I start to think more about it, I can see myself coming back 10, 20, maybe even 50 years later, and I already know that my love for this place and these people will be every bit as real as it is today. Wellesley and the News made me grow in countless ways — it is, to quote David Mitchell, one of the places that “knitted my bones.” So, as Mitchell’s Timothy Cavendish writes so confidently and optimistically, “I shall return, one bright dusk.”
Photo courtesy of Mingfei Li ’17
