Farewell, my dear reader

By Samuel Moore-Sobel

It’s time for me to bid you farewell, my dear reader. After nearly eleven years of writing, this will be my last column. 

I wrote my first column in November 2011. At the time, I was in high school, and I had submitted a story to my school newspaper about the upcoming election. I was excited, as this was the first election in which I could vote. Before publication, my school newspaper cut the story. Never one to give up, I decided to ask local newspapers if they’d be willing to publish my story, hoping to see my work in print. 

I’ll be forever grateful that Valerie Cury, editor of this newspaper, agreed to run my story. Which led to me writing this column, submitting copy each month, brimming with excitement that my work would be shared with the world. 

It truly has been an honor to write this column. I’m humbled that it has run for as long as it has, and that you, my dear reader, have accompanied me on this journey. I have written this column throughout formative years. As I look back on past columns, I see how I was working through many aspects of adolescence and early adulthood. The anxieties around submitting college applications, adjusting to college life, and entering the workforce. I was also wrestling with the accident I had suffered as a teenager and all that went along with that experience. 

In June 2011, I wrote what I thought would be my last column. “This column has been a great way to voice my frustrations, and to educate others about what challenges and fears a high school senior faces,” I wrote. “But most of all I think it was a way for me to try to prove that young people don’t always deserve the bad reputation that they are often given.” 

A variety of factors drove me to start writing again in July 2013. I missed having the opportunity to share my thoughts, and the ability to make a small difference in the lives of others. I also had more to say. There were different causes I wanted to highlight, lessons to glean, and stories to share. 

I’ve come to see how this column was a vehicle for me to share my thoughts, and more importantly, my heart. As someone who often felt unheard and misunderstood, this column was a salve. It kept me going in times of darkness, especially when I felt like no one else was listening. 

Yet even more importantly, I wrote this column because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to share my perspective, in the hopes that it encouraged others as they faced adversity. Years of practicing the craft of writing through this column led me to write Can You See My Scars? I wrote the book with the same goal in mind: to make a difference. 

Over the last year, I’ve found that I simply have less to say, and even less time to say it. Part of that was the pandemic – I’d always used interactions with others and experiences out in the world as a jumping off point for topics I covered in this column. Life changes have also pulled me in different directions—such as getting married, increased work responsibilities, and time-consuming efforts of book promotion. I also think this decision is borne out of a happy circumstance; mainly, that over the last few years, I’ve really come into my own. I’ve heard it said that from great struggle comes great writing. I simply am not struggling in the same ways I once was. 

And while it’s time for me to drop the pen for now, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to write this column. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my editor, Valerie Cury, for her fantastic editing of my column over all these years. I’m also thankful to my wife, Megan, who edited each column since she entered my life, helped me hone my message, and taught me the art of saying more with fewer words. Lastly, I couldn’t be more grateful to you, my dear reader, for the privilege and honor of being a small part of your journey. I wish you and yours the very best. 

Samuel Moore-Sobel is the author of “Can You See My Scars?” His book is available on Amazon.To read more of his work, visit www.samuelmoore-sobel.com To book him for a speaking engagement, visit https://washington-dc.freespeakers.org/author/samuelmooresobel/.