All good things must come to an end, and as a someone who has been writing with The Warrior Word for all four years of high school, leaving the newspaper is a really hard thing to say goodbye to.
Going into high school, I was so nervous and like any incoming freshman, I had no idea what I was doing. My first period class was Journalism, which ended up being the first class I ever attended in high school and my first class of the day for the next four years! That’s 720 days of school that I spent in the Journalism classroom (not including days I decided to sleep in, of course).
Growing up, I have always enjoyed writing and used to “play newspaper” with my brothers in which I would pretend to be a professional publisher and write my own stories. High school gave me the opportunity to go above and beyond, and right off the bat I loved the class.
The creative freedom that comes with journalism has always been my favorite part, and freshman year I was thrilled to be able to write about Taylor Swift for my first personal column (the first of many times I would bring up my love for Taylor in my writing).
I’ve been able to learn so many exciting new things about writing that not only helped me grow in my work in the journalism field, but also helped me in other subjects, like my literature classes. Getting to use a camera and also explore photography was also a super cool opportunity!
One of my favorite experiences with the class was getting to work on the magazine junior year, and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to help write it. Getting to have a hard copy of a magazine with my own pieces in it is so special, and that project is something I will never forget.
The highlight of my many weeks spent at school was always Journalism Club, and I’ve loved being able to start the club back up again and help recruit new members that share the same special passion for writing.
One of the most rewarding experiences of taking journalism has been the friendships and connections I’ve made with so many different people in our community. Getting to meet the upcoming freshmen has been so exciting, and I see myself in the students who come in with a passion to write.
I’ve loved having morning conversations with my friends and getting to know the seniors of the previous years and being able to watch them go on to do great things has been so cool.
Whether it’s getting to interview new people, helping someone edit their article, or just having a fun conversations, every connection I’ve been able to make through journalism is so meaningful.
Going on a field trip to the University of Georgia junior year with the yearbook and journalism classes completely changed my perspective on school and is part of where I am today. On that trip, I got to explore the UGA campus and take some journalism related classes.
I absolutely loved my experience on the trip and had so much fun! After taking a tour, I knew that Athens was where I really wanted to go to college. Now, I’m committed to UGA for the fall and I applied to the college of Journalism and Mass Communications, hoping to continue writing.
I would tell anyone considering taking a journalism class to absolutely go for it! You never know what big opportunities a small decision like a freshmen year elective could bring.
Always remember to try your best, be responsible, treat everyone with kindness, and most importantly, have fun. There is so much to learn and the four years of high school go by so fast!
The scrary news is, you’re on your own now. The cool news is, you’re on your own now.
-Taylor Swift, NYU commencement speech 2022
