I’ve been writing for The Lasso for three years now and it’s been quite the experience.  I started off three years ago as the sophomore scrub.  I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I knew that I was in a class full of upper classmen who were all good writers so it felt kinda cool.  Now, here I am, three years later and I’m still not really sure that I know what I’m doing. But what I do know is that The Lasso really has changed a lot over the past three years.  Editors have come and gone.  First, there was the dynamic (and sometimes irritating) duo of Zach Prince and Spencer Austin.  They were both very talented writers and great editors.  And when I say they were great editors, what I really mean is that they would tear other writer’s papers to shreds with the “red pen of death” as I liked to call it.  They also seemed to have a habit of breaking out into very heated arguments in the middle of class.  The topics of these arguments often ranged from political issues, to the placing of a comma in a certain sentence on someone else’s paper.  They took their positions as co-editors very seriously, so it’s no coincidence that some of our young paper’s best work was produced under their leadership.  Then there was Jeff Baker, last year’s editor.  He was a smart kid with exceptional writing abilities and was also very tech savvy, something that helped The Lasso greatly.  Finally, it was my turn to take the reigns as editor this past year. I’m not really sure how I stack against those other guys, but all in all, I’d say it was another successful year for The Lasso.  There was Rick-rolling, controversy, and plenty of laughs.  Though we seldom got our work done on time, much to the dismay of Ms. Bashara, when we did, it was quality work.  The Lasso has grown a lot since I first started out on the staff three years ago.  We’ve become more and more well known throughout the school, raising the bar from 5 readers to a whopping 26!  I actually don’t know how many readers we have, but I do know that the paper has become a bigger part of the school and will continue to get better and better as the years go by.  It’s been very pleasing to see this change and have kids ask me, “Hey Matt! When’s the new issue coming out?’ instead of  “What the heck is The Lasso?”  And so I, Matthew Harrison Mitchell, sign off as staff writer and editor of The Lasso for the final time. Good night, sweet prince.