Sunlight was gleaming onto my computer screen as I booted up Zoom to join a meeting for an after-school club that I had impulsively signed up for: Newspaper Club. Virtually participating in newspaper wasn’t exactly ideal, but I loved to write and wanted to try something new. After reading the club description, I was sold.
Five years later and the days of seventh grade Zoom school have passed, but they marked the beginning of my journalism journey. I truly enjoyed writing articles about school events and collaborating with other writers on creative stories. I decided to continue Newspaper Club in eighth grade and knew I wanted to pursue journalism in high school, too.
Although there wasn’t space in my schedule to take journalism freshman year, I started writing for Common Sense during my sophomore year. On the first day of class, Mrs. Starr explained what it means to be a journalist, and I could immediately feel my eyes gleaming. She spoke about what it means to maintain integrity and honesty; to take initiative and become a leader as a journalist; to uphold the truth; and to give people a voice.
While each article-writing experience has taught me the importance of these journalistic values, I can confidently say that I never felt them as strongly as I did when I was writing the article about the school shooting that occurred on Feb. 9.
That day was upsetting and surreal, but I came back the next day to conduct interviews and write an article about the event with senior Hayley Gottesman. It was my way of coping with what had happened, and helping our school community understand what had happened.
Hayley and I walked into quiet classrooms with the Voice Memos app open on our phones to interview students and staff. To listen to their visceral emotions was pretty upsetting to me, but it reminded me how we were all in the same predicament. Journalism reminded me of the importance of community in times of hardship.
A little while later, we walked around an empty hallway when we suddenly walked past Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor. We were almost too scared to even go up to him, but Hayley and I looked at each other and mustered the courage to ask him for an interview. Journalism reminded me to just be bold and ask, because the least someone can say is “no.”
After collecting all of our interviews, we cooped up in Mrs. Starr’s office to write the article. It was difficult for us to start with the overwhelming amount of content we had, but we had to start sooner rather than later. When we still weren’t done writing even after the school day finished, Hayley and I FaceTimed at 9 p.m. to wrap up. Journalism reminded me of the value of perseverance and resilience.
I remember my head being scrambled and my heart racing when the article was about to go up. I don’t even think I was able to properly relax until I knew that it was published on our website. Now that I reflect on the whole experience, I think that I’m very lucky to have something like an article to care so much about. I’m grateful for all the worries and stress that I felt when writing not only the Feb. 9 article, but all of my articles, because I know how much sincerity I poured into each of them. To win my first SNO award for the article too was awesome, and I’m truly happy that Hayley and I were recognized for all the time that we put into the article. After hearing about people receiving SNO awards since sophomore year, receiving one myself was great.
I envisioned my senior year to pan out in a very specific way, and it’s safe to say that I didn’t anticipate a lot of what had happened this year. Regardless, it’s bittersweet to leave a place with people I’ve gotten close with, and to stray away from the routines I’m so familiar with. But, I’m extremely grateful for all of the experiences that I’ve had over the past four years and how much I have grown as a person. I’m so excited for the future, and I think I am ready to embrace new challenges and experiences.bvyuuu7k,m
To Mrs. Starr: I hope you know that there is a reason why practically every senior reflection dedicates a paragraph of gratitude towards you. Thank you for being such an excellent teacher who cares so deeply about her students and who is always willing to go the extra mile. In a world where journalism is in danger and more important than ever, thank you for being the person who teaches us about why this art is so essential. When I think of all the strong women in my life, you are one of the first to come to mind.
For all the times I ran around the school during advisory and lunch to find someone for an article; for all the teachers and students I’d stop in the hallway for an interview; and for all the times I’d tell my friends, “Sorry, I have journalism stuff,” I want to say thank you Common Sense. Thank you for all the lessons you’ve taught me; I will no doubt carry them along for the rest of my life. 🙂
