Joining the Journalism team was something of an on the spot decision for me. I remember near the end of my sophomore year receiving a letter asking if I was interested in joining and, later that same day, walking into the classroom of my future teacher/mentor. I heard her out and it sounded exactly like something I would be interested in. I had also been told by adults that journalism would suit me so I said yes.

A year later I was walking into the same journalism classroom with people who I would consider my co-workers. We worked together, laughed together, stressed out together, it was exactly what I had envisioned. Except for the fact that I was no good at my work. I love to write but I felt that over time I had gotten worse at it, even as I write this I feel unfocused and unsatisfied. I’m very open now but at the time I was really bad at interacting with others, meaning interviewing for news stories was tough. I didn’t feel like I belonged in this class the way I had envisioned. Ironically, in the class I had taken as a source of guidance, I felt lost.

That would change with the help of two people inspiring me to try something new. Beth Basinger, my teacher, who really acted more as a boss and mentor, was always extremely supportive of me and my work. She offered honest, constructive criticism and did everything she could to push me in the right direction. I could never thank her enough for the motivation she’s given me and I hope I can work with her more in the future.

The second was Rachel Suarez who helped me find my calling. For the first half of the year, she was the sole editor of the Friday Flash, our school’s monthly broadcast. For the second half, she had agreed to hand the duty of creating it off to me even though I had barely proven myself as a diligent worker or video producer. She instructed me on the techniques she used and laid a foundation that I could build off. In a way, I did let her down. I was missing deadlines and the product I was creating was arguably of lower quality. Those experiences were valuable, however. They humiliated me and motivated me to become a better worker, one focused on giving a quality product and not settling for anything less. It wasn’t until the end of this year where I saw people gathering around and enjoying my creations that I felt my path in life was finally set.

Journalism gave me purpose. I love learning about others’ stories, spreading the truth, and especially making people laugh and feel something. In the future, I will continue my work, and I will do It with one goal in mind: making people happy. I LOVE being a journalist!