Staring at my email on February 10, I finally got it. The application to join ADM’s News staff. I turned down my Chromebook’s brightness during Power Hour when I decided to click on the email, afraid that if someone near me saw my interest, they might poke fun at me to their friends or even just think down on me.
I anxiously filled out the application, honestly, as I sat in that Power Hour. It was only two weeks ago that I had received a letter from the News staff with a recommendation to join the staff. When I got that letter, I was on top of the world. It made me feel so good about myself that people on the News staff who know me had thought to themselves, “Chloe would make a good News member.”
Before I had even gotten the application, I knew I wanted to be on the news staff. Throughout my childhood and into my early teenage years, I loved talking to people and getting their stories. As I grew up a little bit and into high school, I became a little more reserved and asked fewer questions. I stopped practicing my curiosity. These years got a little dark for me, and I saw myself feeling more anxious the less I talked to people. Anxiety is always something I’ve struggled with, and it wasn’t until I joined Black and Redgister’s team that I felt my anxiety dissipate.
This news staff is among some of the most important people in my life. Everyone who is a part of this team is so unbelievably supportive and kind for no reason other than just because that’s how they are as people. Throughout the year, we worked together on projects like Black and Red TV, the Toilet Paper and so on. There were some frustrating moments along the way this year for all parties, yet nobody was ever uncivil or rude to anyone on the staff.
This team encourages and fosters strong communication with one another and it personally helped me refine my communication in hard moments when you’re so frustrated but you can’t show it. I make it sound like I was fuming while taking this class but that is not the case. Every day that I walked into the newsroom, we were greeted with a smile, a handshake and a good morning from Mrs. Basinger. I unfortunately had algebra before this class–all year. Occasionally, I was a little annoyed or upset while on my way to News, but the handshake, smile and good morning routine always reminded me that I’m in my happy zone. My safe space. I knew I could barrel in one morning crying and the next jumping for joy. The best part was that it didn’t matter, because nobody in the newsroom was ever going to judge me, make me feel less than or talk down on me.
I have a very forward personality and I like to be vocal about the things that I enjoy and dislike. I believe this reflects on the stories I’ve told this year, such as How on Earth is “67” The Word of the Year, High Performance, Higher Pressure, Every teen I know is on this drug and many more. I try to shamelessly be myself in the newsroom yet at first it was on accident. I feel such a connection to my fellow staff members that it wasn’t hard to let my guard down and admit that I freaking love the AI Apple photo I asked Mrs. Basinger to print in color for me. That sort of stuff makes me laugh, and in this space I wasn’t afraid to admit that. I can’t think of another room or group of people where I can be so authentically myself.
It’s through the news staff and the newsroom that I re-learned to be comfortable being vulnerable and honest with myself when I needed to be. I knew that if I needed a break from life for a minute, I could go sit in the newsroom or find one of my friends on staff. This vulnerability carried me through this year, and I think that being able to show the vulnerability you feel is one of the greatest strengths a person can have on any team.
For me, vulnerability helps keep me humble, honest, and most importantly for news, searching for the truth. News pushed me out of my comfort bubble, which was scary and hard at first but I knew that that was the reason I joined the staff. I wanted to grow as a person and I wanted my curiosity back. Thanks to News, I finally got that. I pushed myself hard this year in lots of facets, but I’m most proud of how I pushed myself as a news team member.
