Before attending BGSU, I created a comic strip in my high school newspaper and I wanted to continue that during college. I was fortunate enough to be given space in this year’s BG News, in the Not News and Opinion sections. I came up with the “Freshmen” concept to chronicle the many experiences I had during my first year.

I intended this strip to be nothing more than a little hobby that would entertain my friends and me. And I was surprised to hear people talking about it in my various classes. I’m truly thankful to all of you who appreciate my work and my style of humor, and I’m glad people other than myself get some of my jokes.

Despite my mild popularity, I have also received some criticism for my works. To those who have written complaints to the BG News, I thank you as well. It’s always good to get some constructive criticism now and then, and I get a chuckle out of reading some of those complaints as well. Other than that, what can I say — it’s hard to please everyone!

The main reason I’m writing this note is to declare that I will not continue my comic strip next year … sorry, there’ll be no “Sophomore.” I’m anticipating having quite a load on my hands next year, and I’ll have to give up this fun hobby.

This strip has been helpful in advancing my art career and techniques, and I’m glad that some of you got a kick out of it. For those die-hard “Freshmen” fans, if there are any, don’t worry, I’m planning on coming up with a new comic strip for the 2006-07 school year and beyond. So, I’ll say “peace” and leave you all with this last “Freshmen” comic.

Thanks to my new, good friends here at BG, who were my inspiration for many of the comics, and to Carrie, Sussman and the rest of the BG News crew.

Sincerely,

Martel White

PS: Bob Ross is cooler than your mom!