I have a confession – I grew up on this campus.

Not in a Gatton-student, here- all-the-time, Big-Red-onesie kind of way, although I’m sure I had a Big Red onesie, but I grew up here in a Bowling-Green-hometown, knew- DSU-as-DUC, took-prom-photos-here kind of way.

So many of my early memories are tied to the Hill. I sold Girl Scout cookies to the chemistry department when I was a little kid. My fourth grade science fair project took place in a chemistry lab when Ogden College Hall was the Kelley Thompson Hall North Wing. Many concert festivals in middle school and high school were held in Van Meter Hall. I took prom photos my senior year under the Gary Ransdell Hall front arches.

The cherry blossoms in the spring and the leaves in the fall have always been my favorite. I learned how to wave a red towel as a child. The endless soft-serve ice cream at Fresh was the coolest thing in the world. I practiced driving at night and on one- way streets here, sometimes using the parking lot by Preston to perfect those crucial skills.

When I started college, I had no idea what was coming my way. I lived in Minton Hall when it closed for mold. I was studying abroad in Denmark when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I experienced personal loss for the first time in college. I got into the world of flirting and dating. I learned how to be myself a little bit more.

I also found my way to the College Heights Herald – a newspaper I once used as part of a collage for a project on the Odyssey in high school. As someone who was so scared when I started college that I would hate my major or I wouldn’t know what to do with my life, it was a relief when I fell in love with reporting at the Herald. My experiences helped me know this was what I was supposed to do with my life.

The first time my story was printed on the front page, my dad, a chemistry professor here, picked up a big stack of papers. They were in his office forever; those copies might still be there, honestly. One of his coworkers even laminated a copy of the front page for him.

To me, it was the coolest thing in the world to be on the front page of the newspaper, for a story I worked hard on to make on the front page.

By my next semester at the Herald, being on the front page wasn’t quite as amazing, but I still found it pretty cool. I did get more involved, eventually becoming an editor, and I wanted to work on the hard stories. At least, I wanted to work on the stories I thought were hard.

I used to argue with some of my friends who also worked at the Herald about who would be editor-in-chief one day. After I found out via Zoom call that I had gotten the job last spring, I popped over from my apartment to my dad’s office to tell him. I was so excited to do this. I practically tackled him when I got there.

I’ve always loved the Hill and made such good memories here. However, as I’ve grown as a student and a journalist, my questions for the Hill have grown. I’ve spent much of my time wanting to know why and how and what makes this, that and the other, okay.

Being a journalist for a place you love is kind of a weird thing.

While I was abroad, a friend I had made early on asked about what it was like to cover WKU when I clearly cared about it so much. Pointing out the flaws in something you love doesn’t exactly sound like caring about it.

I thought I would struggle for an answer.

But I didn’t. I said that I wanted to cover my school and look at what was happening there so maybe someone would see it and want to come take care of it. I wanted someone to see that WKU should be loved in a way that makes the people on the Hill happy and hopeful.

Since that conversation, I think some things have gotten better. I don’t think everything is perfect though. Those imperfections are what we hope to cover at the Herald, as well as the things that have gotten better.

I hope, despite all the things I’ve written about that don’t shine brightly on the Hill, everyone can understand that I love this place — and the Herald as students love it here too.

I love the way the cherry blossoms make Centennial Mall look like a rom-com set.

I love the ridiculousness of Big Red and his goofy dance moves.

I love standing at the top of Van Meter and watching the sunset over Bowling Green.

I love the people that have worked so hard to make campus a great place to be.

I love the fact that I’ve never met anyone who really understands what “The Spirit Makes The Master” means.

I love the fact that Fresh has never gotten rid of the soft-serve ice cream.

I especially love the College Heights Herald. I love it for all the friends it’s brought me, the memories I’ve made in the office, the opportunities I’ve received working here and to have luckily found a profession I love to do.

I would not be who I am today without the Herald and the Hill, and I love them both so much for it.

All my big red heart,

Editor-in-Chief Lily Burris

Editor-in-Chief Lily Burris can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lily_burris.