After all the fiery letters, angry phone calls and heated remarks I've received about my writing during the year, I figure it is be appropriate to address my critics one last time in my final column.

I could rip on their flawed ideology once more, but I've had enough fun doing that all year. From my rants on the conniving Republican majority in Washington or those darn Support Our Troops ribbons that litter our highways, it always seemed like I was ticking someone off.

But as the year went on, I came to appreciate the criticism. After all, it always felt good knowing that someone was reading. Heck, I've been called an un-American, tree-hugging, gay-loving, God-hating and bleeding-heart liberal, but it never bothered me much. Sure, at times I felt as if I was in the extreme minority with my views, but the criticism didn't get me down. It only empowered me.

I'm sure some of you probably didn't get past the headlines, probably because of extreme laziness or sheer ignorance, but for those who gave me the time of day, I thank you.

It's hard to put into words what this newspaper has meant to me. Not because of all the friends I've made on the staff, but because this paper has given me a voice. Hoban should pride itself for its no-prior-review policy regarding the Visor. If it weren't for that policy, I may have ended up writing about something as idling as my hatred for Italian food.

But now it's time to get a little cliché. So, I'd like to offer you all some advice.

I want to encourage all of you to appreciate your freedoms as Americans. I'm sure you're all familiar with my almost sickening fascination with the First Amendment, and you might have thought that if it were a girl, I would have taken it to prom.

Anyway, if any of you have gained anything from my columns over the last year, I hope it is a more appreciative understanding of your right to free speech. I encourage you to find your voice, embrace it, and of course, use it. Speaking your mind is the first step to change. After all, isn't that what democracy is all about?