Wow. David Letterman announcing his upcoming retirement shocked me. It shouldn’t have. We all knew it was coming. No one was under the impression Letterman would be hosting The Late Show until he dies. He’d host it until Jay Leno was out of the collective consciousness or dropped dead. Once Leno said goodbye to The Tonight Show stage one last time, Letterman’s days were numbered. All he did today was confirm everyone’s assumption.

When all is said and done, Letterman will have hosted a late night talk show for 33 years: 11 as host of NBC’s Late Night, the last 22 will be with The Late Show and CBS. It’s hard to believe that 5 years ago few people expected Letterman to surpass his idol Johnny Carson’s reign in late night, which was an impressive 30 years. Now, we’re wondering how CBS will fill the hole in their lineup when Letterman leaves next year.

Despite everything clearly leading up to Letterman’s departure, it’s still shocking. I am surprised at how heartbroken I am. Letterman has been on late night television almost 10 years longer than I’ve been alive. My dream was to intern or be a page for the Late Show. I came close twice, but it didn’t happen. After hearing about the back stage shenanigans, I know that it was for the best. While I can’t honestly say I’ve watched Letterman in the last two years, I can say that he heavily influenced my high school years and I will forever be indebted to him for giving us Conan O’Brien, who he influenced, preceded on Late Night, and is my current late night preference. Hopefully, Craig Ferguson will get to prove himself on The Late Show and won’t be shafted the way Letterman was with The Tonight Show.