March 19 marks two years at the Katherine Times.
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And as a send off, it appears there is an unofficial tradition for journalists to write a cheerio piece.
Here we go.
It's been fun. It's been stressful. And it's been challenging beyond belief.
But coming here was the best decision I have made.
I'm not sure if my boss knows this, but the original plan was six months - leaving for the unknown is tough.
Two years later, I'm barely coming to terms with my fly-out date (pending pandemic).
I've covered the worst of the worst, I've seen death for the first time, and I've had to hold back tears as people hand over bits of their lives.
I'll never be able to etch out of my mind a horse cut wide open on the side of the road, skid marks leading to a bike and a body lying still.
I'll never forget the young girl at the hot springs with scars on her chest - the tell tale sign of rheumatic heart disease - describing her trips to the big hospitals in the big cities. When I think about her splashing about, I hope she survives the statistics and lives past 30.
I'll remember every person behind every story from the Katherine Doorways Hub, handing over snippets of a tough life, of homelessness, of domestic violence, of waiting for something better.
I've sat in on world-famous inquests, heard the deafening rumble of Tindal's fighter jets taking off from the side of the runway, watched on as police divers search the depths of Edith Falls for a man that will likely never be found, and met a drum player with no hands and no feet.
There are the stories I've loved the most - the little piece on the 80th birthday of a grandmother who survived the Katherine bombing, the debutantes putting in the hard work for their big end-of-year dance, the morning tea for cancer research Bess Heart works tirelessly to carry on every single year, the senior citizen's fight for Tai-chi, and the primary school student who started a war on plastic at her school.
There have been immense challenges too, like the time I was surrounded by experienced journalists and PR people, I had to muster all my courage to ask the Prime Minister if his government was doing anything about Katherine's homelessness crisis.
Or the time I waited hours on the railway bridge for a single photo of a relatively rare military train passing through. It might not have been during the build up, but it definitely felt like it.
I've grown to greatly respect the fight in the people who live here. Those fighting for the environment, those taking the government to court over water contamination, the people calling for equal rights and reconciliation.
So, this is obviously a great time to say thank you as well.
Thank you for letting me in, for letting me tell your stories and for posing in my pictures.
Thank you to those who have been critical, you've kept me on my toes, thickened my skin and pushed me to be better.
From reporting on the best jam at the show, to covering protests and billion dollar investments, it's been a roller coaster.
And I couldn't be more grateful.
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