At the start of this quarter, I got metaphorically married — not to my partner, but to The Daily’s Opinion section. 

Prior to arriving on campus, my plan was to hit the ground running by reporting campus and Evanston news. When I joined The Daily Fall Quarter, I learned staffers aren’t permitted to report for any other desks and write for Opinion within the same quarter. This is to avoid conflicts of interest. I remember internally vowing to avoid Opinion, so I could stick to reporting. 

Unfortunately, that plan took a turn after I got sick and spent about three weeks in New York recovering from symptoms most similar to those of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Upon returning to campus after my immune system’s little snafu, I wanted to make up for lost time.

I was fortunately much healthier in the winter, at least by comparison. As Copy Chief, I was responsible for checking articles to ensure accuracy and adherence to AP Style. With many late nights, I became more caffeinated and the newsroom became my third home, with the second one being the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion. I use the word “love” sparingly, but I do truly love working at The Daily and the newsroom’s atmosphere. Its consistency reminds me of my time on my high school’s wrestling team and its humorous drama from time to time makes me think the newsroom could use a show similar to “The Office.”

My favorite stories to copy edit were typically opinions, because of the strength of writers’ voices. From these pieces I found myself fortunate enough to look over, I became able to tell who wrote what just based on the article’s label or voice. Those who write routinely for Opinion cover what they’re passionate about. When I read opinions, I feel like I can almost hear the writers’ voices, even if I’d never heard them speak. I think that’s the beauty of this section.

Opinion offers one thing the other desks don’t: a stage. With opinion, you can write to your heart’s content – definitely not the next Great American Novel, but enough to express your thoughts. Most importantly, you can offer your unique perspective. The Canada Goose junior who just got back from a trip around the world might share what I can’t about countries to visit, but they wouldn’t offer the viewpoint the first-generation, low-income student in your math lecture could.

That’s what drew me to Opinion for this quarter. There may have been no church, court or fake Elvis, but an email announcing the spring Editorial Board roster made our aforementioned union official.

I might be in the honeymoon phase with the Opinion desk, but I will make every effort to make my plans come to fruition and leave this desk better than I found it — even if it means I get seven hours of sleep instead of eight.

I hope to get to know even more people through their writing this quarter, but above everything, I hope I get to know you, the reader who might be contemplating writing an opinion piece. I may be biased, but I say go for it.

Submit opinion pieces by emailing [email protected].

Micah Sandy is a Medill freshman. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.