Farewell Ram Page: Fatima Contreras

Before contracting COVID-19 in January of 2022, I had a great immune system — to the point that I would only ever get sick maybe twice a year, each instance lasting just under a week. Up until the first week of December of this year, I had thought the only remnant of COVID-19 in my system was the annoying, dry, occasional cough I would struggle with when laughing too hard or a sudden change in weather. Of course, that first week of December, I realized my immune system never fully recovered, and I finally understood how truly blessed I had been.

At the time of writing this, I still have trouble breathing through my nose, hearing in my left ear and keeping my lungs inside my rib cage. As I take my antibiotics, I can only hope that by the time this farewell is published, I'll have recovered, graduated and moved on to the next chapter of life. I bring up this unexpected illness, and the long-term effects of COVID-19, to help explain how unexpected events and their complexities can alter even the best-made arrangements. Admittedly, my plans for that week were not that important or that inflexible, but I still panicked, thinking that I’d run out of time to hand out graduation invitations and thank you cards, and that everything would become last-minute graduation dinner preparations. It wasn’t until after I adjusted my plans and carried them out accordingly that I had this epiphany.

It can be difficult to plan anything out, even when considering the possibility of sudden changes. Whether it's a singular, recurring, small or large event, the smallest change can cause the most carefully laid plans to be completely thrown out. I can’t even begin to list all of the plans that I had to leave behind or the complexities of small events that caused drastic changes to my plans. The little experience I can speak from is not anything great so I don’t have any wise words, but I can’t help insisting on being kind to yourself, your plans and the changes that the two of you will encounter.

As I mentioned in my “Meet the Editors,” I previously worked with the Ram Page two years ago, and I had not planned on returning. Close to seven years ago, I was sure that I would study to become a computer software engineer and work towards creating a supercapacitor. Many more years before that, I had promised myself that I'd never work in a hospital and that I’d become an astronomer, wanting to help send people to the moon but never wanting to go myself. A handful of these changes were simply due to the passage of time and growing up, but the chance to rejoin the Ram Page was an opportunity that I could not have anticipated and can not be thankful enough for. I have met kind and talented people, made priceless and hysterical memories, and learned integral elements of journalism. I know I’ll look back fondly at my time here with the Ram Page. 

I’ll take the risk of mimicking my “Thankful Ram Page” entry since I mean it with the same sincerity, and I’m happy to now include members of the Ram Page as some of those who helped me accomplish this change and growth while at ASU. I can only imagine where I’d be without Ram Page and its impact.