Stepping into the newsroom for the first time felt like exactly every other class. It was finding the seat that will be your view of the room for the foreseeable future, getting out any materials you might need for class, and looking for friends that can uplift your school day. I want to say I felt an immediate passion for journalism and loved the class from the very start, but I didn’t. As a shy person, I didn’t love the thought of so many people having easy access to the stories I write, and the few close friends I can always count on to lift up my day were nowhere to be seen. But as bland of a first day as it was, the rest of the school year was just as exciting, if not more so. While I didn’t exactly enjoy writing, I loved the feeling of pride that came with hitting the publish button at the end of a story. While I didn’t have any close friends in the class, I have people that I’ve grown closer to because of what News has given me.
News has been unlike any other class I’ve taken. The typical sit at your seat and work until the bell is both drab and ineffective for the newsroom. Instead, there is a certain buzz in the air that comes from students pouring their souls into stories. A buzz that comes from students leaving the classroom to interview the people who change our stories from well-written to a piece that can change minds and make a difference. I’ve fallen in love with this newsroom buzz that finds its way into every day I spend in the newsroom. It may just be the clicking of keyboard keys and the low chatter of people planning interviews, but to me, it sounds like a crowd-filled stadium, cheering me on as I go through my everyday tasks. It keeps me energized and motivated towards my goals and journalistic aspirations. Even if I can’t count on an interviewee giving good responses, a story going smoothly through the writing process, or even myself being motivated to give my best effort, I know the buzz will always be there to keep me pushing forward toward the writer I want to be.
I’ve learned that each day in this class will be different. Coming into the class with expectations of what will happen is something I learned not to do long ago. No one thing is guaranteed for me as I step into the newsroom, but I know I will get at least one thing from the day. Whether it is a lesson learned, a completed story, or a new skill acquired, something can always be gained.
I’ll miss the feeling of completing a story, turning it in, and knowing it was your best work. I’ll miss the unpredictability of each day that makes journalism so unique and exciting. I’ll miss the newsroom buzz that I always find comforting enough to be myself but challenging enough to keep me motivated towards creating my best piece. But most of all, I’ll miss the people in the class. The judgment-free people who encourage me to be myself, the people to my right and my left who are all writing for the same purpose and the same goals. At the start of the year, I didn’t have any friends in this class, but as I leave this room for the last time, I’m walking out with the family I have made during my year on the journalism team.
