After playing “Sierra Sun Newsroom Survivor” for more than four years ” and winning for almost as long ” I’ve decided it’s time to leave the island.

I’m saying goodbye to a much different newspaper than the one I encountered when I moved to Truckee fresh out of college at 22 years old.

Our newsroom has grown in both numbers and strength. We’ve made the transition from weekly to semi-weekly to daily. These changes haven’t always been easy for the community, and they haven’t been easy for us at the paper.

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Now, at almost 27 years old, I can say I have been through some transformations myself.

My skin’s a little thicker.

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I lost both of my grandmothers.

I got engaged.

I watched an immediate family member battle and beat drug addiction.

I have accepted the virtues of high heels.

I bought a 540-square-foot house in Kings Beach with my finance. (FYI, I live in a cabin; your multi-thousand-square-foot house in Tahoe Donner is not a cabin.)

My 2-year-old dog died.

I learned a drill bit can go through a man’s eye, push his brain out of the way and come out the back of his head ” and he can live to tell about it. (Search for “Ron Hunt” on our Web site.)

Let’s just say I’ve learned a lot, and I have a lot of people to thank for it.

I’m appreciative of Sun Publisher Jody Poe, who gave me the opportunity for more responsibility by offering me a promotion. If it weren’t for her, I would probably be living somewhere like Los Banos right now.

Thank you to Jamie Bate, who has always made me feel as though my opinion matters, even when I was wrong.

I want to thank all the people I have encountered in this job over the past years (you know who you are).

Most of all, I want to thank all the people who work at the Sierra Sun. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to wake up on Monday morning knowing I won’t get to see all of you.

It’s not easy to create a newspaper day-in and day-out, and the Sun staff does it with devotion. People are often surprised by how few employees work for the Sun because the paper we produce tells a different story.

Journalists don’t choose a career in Truckee and Tahoe because they have ambitions to work at the New York Times (and believe me, some of our staff members have the talent to work for the big guys). They’re here because they like small-town journalism, and they love living here.

So, with a heavy heart I say thank you and goodbye to the Sierra Sun and hello to my new life on the North Shore and in Truckee. I can’t wait to read about the changes that develop in the years to come.

Renee Shadforth is assistant editor of the Sierra Sun. Today is her final day with the paper.