Dear Delta…
By Blake Metiva
Dear Delta,
It’s been a ride, hasn’t it? There’s been blood, sweat, a whole lot of tears, and a ton of time spent together. From the first tour I took to the final time I’ll step on campus, it will have been close to eight years.
We’ve fought a lot. I’ve said I hate you countless times. I’ve questioned more times than I can count why I care. But for some reason, I always came back (I’m paying to be here).
Wait a minute… is this a letter to my college or a letter to my ex-girlfriend?
Coming here, I despised the idea of attending community college. I saw where the people I went to high school with were going. Dream schools like the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Cornell and Michigan Tech. I wasn’t. I was attending the rinky-dink community college whose main campus takes up 640 acres.
We started off on the wrong foot, and it would be that way for quite a while. I didn’t want to spend any more time on campus than however long my classes would last. I didn’t know anybody, I didn’t want to know anyone and I didn’t want to waste gas. If it wasn’t obvious before, I didn’t last long. I almost flunked out and made a decision to stay away for a few years.
2020 hit, and the world stopped, unless you were an essential worker. Of course retail workers were considered that, and I was given the gift of dealing with the general public during toilet paper shortages, game console scalping and conversations six feet apart. One of the few good things that came out of that time was the ability to come back to school. Thank you, Michigan Reconnect scholarship.
Coming back was different. I met new people, took new classes and found my way to this publication. I went in covering sports and had the time of my life. I had people reading, or hating, my opinions. Did I think Caitlin Clark should win Rookie of the Year? Yes. Was Tarik Skubal the best pitcher in baseball? You bet. Did I think the soccer team was going to win the National Title in 2024? I left it up to time, but I was quietly confident they would.
I worked my way from multimedia journalist to sports editor and finally, Editor-In-Chief. During that time, I’ve met tons of people, had countless conversations covering lots of subjects, been on the radio and shown my mug on camera every time we do a newscast.
I’ve met fantastic graphics designers that I’ve worked with and (probably) pushed too hard, reporters who I’ve watched grow from their first article to their most recent, videographers that have suffered through every botched line read and expletive, editors that I’ve driven crazy with my cliche sports lines and photographers who have heard me say “as an award-winning photojournalist” more times than they count. Every single one of you has been amazing and I appreciate you putting up with me and growing with me.
I’m really not one to wax poetically about my life, but my time at Delta deserves that. Getting to know my current staff, the opportunities to cover campus events and local sports and growing relationships with different departments on campus, is worth it. If you asked 18-year-old Blake if he would’ve ever written something like this, he would’ve laughed in your face. An older and wiser Blake feels it’s his duty to write this as the final piece of his journalism career at Delta.
I’ve cherished all the memories I’ve made, the people I’ve met, the lessons I’ve learned, the opportunities I’ve been given and the championships I’ve covered.
Much love,
Blake