This week, I asked everyone on the team to share a few thoughts on the past year. Has 2023 been a special or unusual year for them? We’ve asked this same question of six UM students and employees who’ve had an unusual year, as you can read in this week’s interviews.
Soon, candid responses started coming in. Editor CF, still not back to her old self but well on the road to recovery, sent me a text message: “OK, this is going to sound really cheesy, but so be it. For me, this past year has been all about gratitude. I’m grateful to be getting better, for the excellent care from my doctors and nurses, for all the get-well wishes and flowers (so many flowers!). Being healthy and surrounded by people who love you – what more could you ask for?”
No longer the youngest
Editor DV had a positive year. He visited Costa Rica – his first long-distance trip since the pandemic – and, as of this summer, is officially no longer the youngest person at the office. “Having three new colleagues has created a refreshing new dynamic. Instead of just asking questions, I can now share my own experiences as well. I’ve also started working on my first book. All in all, I’ve made some strides as a journalist this year.”
One of those new colleagues is editor PD. 2023 has been a good year for him, he says; he is grateful too, “for my new job – great work in a great team with great colleagues”. Our two junior journalists, LvdL and SW, both earned their degrees (a master’s in Biomedical Sciences and a bachelor’s in European Studies, respectively) and got temporary jobs at Observant this year. They’re enjoying it, although they’re still building their confidence. “I didn’t want to pursue a PhD after graduating in February, so I had to decide what to do instead”, says LvdL. “Working at the UM press office made me realise that I enjoy science communication. When I came across the vacancy for a junior journalist at Observant, I applied straight away. After the interview, I called my mother, who said, ‘Don’t get your hopes up. People get rejected all the time.’ But I got the job!” She has nothing but praise (and the occasional deep sigh) for WB, our strict but fair veteran who was brought in to mentor them.
Her fellow junior journalist, SW, met his nephew Pius for the first time this year. “A great gift for someone with hardly any family. He has breathed new life into the relationship between my brother and me, which had gotten a bit rusty in recent years. Fatherhood has changed him.”
Shook up our lives
Looking back, editor WD experienced many wonderful moments in 2023, but her year was marked by her youngest son being rushed to hospital. “Mink’s illness at the end of January had a huge impact on us. It turned out that he has an autoimmune disorder, as they discovered at the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen. Although he recovered fairly quickly – and people sometimes think it wasn’t that bad – it shook up our lives. It’s still something we struggle with, especially knowing the disease might flare up again during the flu season.”
For editor MT, 2023 was characterised by a lot of work and worries, he says. “In addition to working for Observant two days per week, I’ve been working three days per week for the national newspaper Trouw since March. It’s hard work, juggling two jobs from Amersfoort – 200 kilometres from Maastricht and 200 kilometres from Kerkrade, where my parents live. They still live at home, but they’re dependent on home care (four times per day) and their only son.”
Glad
Then there’s our assistant of the editors MJ, who went through difficult years when her husband fell seriously ill, her brother-in-law suddenly passed away and she lost her beloved sister during the pandemic. 2023 held no major highs or lows for her: “Life went on as usual. I would’ve found it boring before, but this year I was glad of it.”
I can relate to that. As for my year, April brought the sad news of the death of a friend, the husband of a close friend of mine. On a brighter note, I won’t be forgetting the day my brother defended his PhD anytime soon. I had the honour of being one of his ceremonial assistants. It was a beautiful day. Our parents are no longer with us, but my mother always said they’d be watching from heaven. I’m sure they’re proud of him for pulling it off.