Reflecting on this past year, it’s easy to see that I’ve learned a lot while being on the Black & (Red)gister staff. I’ve learned how to effectively work with others. I’ve learned how to conduct interviews with people I’ve never even talked to before. I’ve learned how to meet deadlines. What I feel is most important, however, is that I’ve learned how to set goals and work tirelessly to meet them.
One of my favorite parts of Black & (Red)gister is the routine of it. There is a consistency between each day, month and week. Every day, we start class with 7-minute jobs and good news. Every month, we publish 2 personal stories as well as record our assigned segment of Black & Red TV. Every week, we take our sticky notes off our computer monitors and write what we commit to accomplishing in class that week; this single, simple task has become my absolute favorite part of being on this staff.
Before this school year, before joining Black & (Red)gister, I’d never been too serious about setting goals. It wasn’t that I thought they were pointless or silly, I just didn’t regularly think about them unless someone prompted me to set one. This year, however, I’ve done a much better job at setting a goal each week, not just in Black & Red(gister), but in all my classes. What motivates me to meet these goals is thinking about the satisfaction I will feel knowing that I was productive and got my work done.
A lot of work and personal development goes into meeting these weekly goals, and one area that news journalism class has helped me in is getting outside my comfort zone, which is something I’ve struggled with for years, ever since I was a little kid. It didn’t take long to learn that keeping to yourself and refusing to work with other people would not fly on this news publication. While I used to strongly prefer to work on my own, I now find it fun and rewarding to work with others. Along with this, I am now much less nervous about talking to new people. Just a couple years ago, during middle school, I absolutely loathed all things related to public speaking; I wouldn’t be caught dead voluntarily talking to anyone about anything. It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown since then; middle school me would be simultaneously shocked and very proud of who I am in high school.
All of this being considered, I’m confident to say that Black & (Red)gister has made me not only a better writer but also a better person. Being a part of this news team has taught me life skills that I will carry with me far beyond the confines of ADM High School and into whatever profession I choose. Going into next year, I’m ecstatic to join Black & (Red)gister again and am looking forward to making new stories, new memories and new relationships. While I don’t know everything about what the coming months and years will look like, I know one thing for sure: I will continue to live each day working to meet my wildly important goals.
