* Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from its original version
The first time I met The Sidekick senior editorial page editor Hamza Zakir in the seventh grade, he blew a kazoo in my face.
No ‘hi.’ No ‘Hello.’ No, ‘How are you?’ Just straight kazoo.
That was four years ago. At that time, I wanted in no way, shape or form to be associated with him. I thought he was a weirdo. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, he lived in my community, so there was no escaping him.
But as annoying as our first meeting was, I find myself thinking about it often as the school year will soon be over and he will move across the country to Connecticut for college.
Hamza convinced me to join The Sidekick after freshman year. He convinced me to stay when I wanted to quit. Any time something crazy happens, he is always the first person I text. I knew I could always confide in him and he would just get it without judging me.
When we took photos for this column in a park, Hamza immediately climbed a tree and refused to get down for the remainder of the photoshoot. That is just one of the many things that makes him a (self-proclaimed) freakazoid.
Every morning, I drive him to school. And every A day afternoon, I take him home. Now, rather than asking if he could come with me, he asks what time we are leaving. We often joke about recruiting another Sidekick staffer to replace him in my passenger’s seat, but I know it won’t be the same because he is irreplaceable.
He is irreplaceable in more ways than one. It feels strangely full circle that one of the people who has shaped so much of my high school experience is now graduating as I step into the role he held so well. As the editorial page editor for the 2026–27 school year, I know I have big shoes to fill because I’ve had a front-row seat to the passion he brought to this section. I can only hope to make him proud and that from Connecticut, he’ll keep reading and know the opinions section is in good hands.
There are no words that can describe the magnitude of the impact Hamza has made in my life. And there are no words to describe how I will feel next school year no longer seeing him every day. I don’t think it will fully hit me until next year, until the passenger’s seat of my car is empty every morning or when he is no longer spinning around the newsroom.
Despite him being in another state next year, we will remain close. I’ll still update him on gossip. I’ll still text him the second something happens. We will still laugh about dumb things.
Whatever happens, I will always be grateful to have met this weirdo.
Follow Aashi (@_aashipanchal_) and @CHSCampusNews.
