To say that this year was a struggle would be an understatement. At the time when we were thrown into this position, the only school news we had was that there was no way we’d be returning to finish the year. Soon, it became clear that the new reality we faced then would stay with us through most of our term. These developments forced us to rethink the way we would run the paper. How are we supposed to teach new editors the layout process over a Google Meet? How would we get freshmen involved without having a club fair? Somehow, we made it work and we are so proud of what we were able to accomplish. We know we’ll cherish our time with The Inkblot, both in-person and virtually, forever.

Madison Beekman

When I first came to CHS, never in a million years would I have seen myself here. Back then, I cried on the first day of school, joined every club possible and basically quit Inkblot because I thought I was terrible. Believe it or not, Izzy Erskine was actually the one who convinced me to come back. I started writing for Features, found a passion in journalism, and boy, am I glad I did. I couldn’t imagine myself representing any other club in such a high position.

The list of my favorite memories could go on and on, but the one thing I’ll miss the most is layout. We were basically delusional every time we’d enter 107 at 2:19 and snacks were the only thing that got us through. I distinctly remember the last layout before COVID-19: it was just Isabella Antoon, Katherine Lombardi, Evan Kuo, Mr. Woolley and I and we watched an episode of “The Backyardigans” (I have no idea why). Our edit board had such a great dynamic and I only hope that continues once things are back to normal.

We’ve been so fortunate to have such a driven group of people this year. Thank you to the edit board for everything you pulled off and for always pushing yourselves to the highest standards. I couldn’t imagine virtually working with any other team of people. I also want to thank the better parts of Laddie: Liam, Rebecca and Mr. Woolley. There is no one more talented, hardworking and focused that I’d want to work with this year. Even when I fell behind, you never failed to either get me back on track or pick up the slack yourselves, and make me laugh while doing it.

And finally, thank you to everyone at CHS. Thank you for trusting us, and for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I’ll miss you and good luck to the new edit board. You’re in good hands.

Liam Umbs

If someone told the scared and nervous freshman, signing up for a news article at his first Inkblot meeting of the year, that he’d one day be running the whole thing, I don’t even know what he would be thinking. In all honesty, I did not have a good first experience with The Inkblot. In many ways, I felt lost, unable to find my place. I am so thankful that, after quitting the club for some time, Rebecca Heath encouraged me to give it a second shot, because it turned out that The Inkblot was my place after all.

Being involved with The Inkblot has given me enough memories to last a lifetime. I could never forget in junior year when the power went out during layout and we nearly lost all our work, or the time this year when we realized, right before sending one of the issues to print, that we didn’t make enough pages and had to scramble and throw something together last-minute.

Serving as Editor-in-Chief was truly one of the greatest honors of my life, and I couldn’t imagine having a better partner than Maddie Beekman. Always full of great ideas, she is a natural-born leader who brought energy and excitement to the team, even during the darkest and most stressful days of the pandemic. Rebecca was outstanding as our managing editor, as a great leader and organizer, she kept The Inkblot not just financially stable but prosperous during the pandemic. Her dedication to the club shone through in everything she did. Everyone on Edit Board went above and beyond every single issue and I am so proud of everything we were able to do, especially given the circumstances. To the new edit board, working for The Inkblot is one of the best things you can do at CHS, so take the time to enjoy it. I wish you the best of luck and I know you are going to do amazing next year.