By LANDAN GARCIA, copy desk chief

First of all, shout out to Big K. You set a precedent that will always be remembered. Whatever you’re doing, I’m sure it’s getting done in the most ethical way possible and you’re not checking any voice messages there. People are starting to get mad.

Spending four quarters with The Observer has been a lot of fun. It’s been an investment, a year to learn what a team can do together when they’re cohesive and invested in one another.

I’ve seen editors thrive in this questionably dying field of print journalism, only breaking character to take unfunny quotes completely out of context. This experience has felt like that great scene in “Titanic” with the musicians, minus the deadly arctic waters and selfish redhead(s); maybe more like a raft on People’s Pond, where if it sinks, everyone just swims to shore.

I’ve seen the best of several unique people in the newsroom. After a year, I know what many of them would do in a given situation and can laugh to myself about it. It’s gifted me with a refreshingly new perspective on life.

I’ve enjoyed working with my copy editors, professional and bimbo alike. The license for expression was great as copy desk chief; I don’t know what’s been worse, the fact that two people would read my articles or that they’d talk to me about them weeks later and I’d have no freaking idea which issue they read.

A wise woman smoking a cigarette in the kitchen in The Matrix once said, “know yourself.” I grew this year and have watched others grow as well. That’s valuable.

There are so many jobs out there, but few offer the opportunity for each person to contribute to a project in such a unique way as The Observer.

It saddens me to think about the paper losing so many seasoned staff members next fall, but I know the new crop will carry on The Observer legacy.

Trunctions are like church — you don’t need a tree house to trunction.

I hope the new editors focus on building a strong team.

I’ve learned it’s never worth sacrificing teamwork for trivialities.  Cohesiveness is the most important aspect of an office environment; it’s that team synergy that makes people spend the time to create things that are truly out of the ordinary.

A wise man in a silver V-neck once told me, “If you don’t know the meaning of ratchet, then you are the ratchet one.”

Truer words have never been spoken.