All year I have told anyone who would listen, “I am so excited to graduate and move away” but now it is the last thing I want to do. I have been counting down the days until graduation since I started my high school career. Constantly planning my next steps and I never gave myself a chance to live in the moment. I was so busy looking at the road I forgot to stop and look around for a few moments here and there.
After traveling eight hours home after winning fifth place in the UIL News writing contest, I sit here feeling speechless while trying to put into words how much this journalism program has done for me and the legacy I hope I leave behind as I walk the stage on Friday night.
Most people think all we do is ask annoying questions during our interviews and publish stories on our website a few days later, but there is actually more to it than just that. I have spent four years on staff and I do not think our program has gotten the recognition it deserves. Every student who has published a story on our website has put in a great deal of effort to make this happen.
The process to write a story begins with an idea that sparks a wildfire. The staff reporter then creates a story map to plan out their ideas and how they want to write their story. They choose a minimum of three sources and they have to make detailed questions for each of their sources. Then they take time out of their homeroom when they could be studying for an AP test or catching up on work they missed for another activity, instead they spend homeroom interviewing and gathering information. After their interview, they gather information and their quotes and form it into a story that then goes through several rounds of edits before it is considered eligible to be published and once it is published, they get a few minutes of satisfaction and then they have to start the process all over again.
This program is what the people involved have worked so hard to make it. There have been countless memories made within the walls of room 1305. From the late nights spent working on the yearbook, the countless rounds of UNO and the many days we filled with laughter. Every person that has walked through the doors of room 1305 and committed their time to our program has made it what it is.
Throughout junior high and high school I have participated in numerous extracurricular activities and clubs. Choir where I sang tenor 1, tennis where I played mixed doubles and dominated the court, theater where I scripted awful little plays and scenes because I thought I could do it. All of those programs and none fulfilled me or felt like family like journalism. Journalism has left a huge impact on my life and I know that I will never be a part of something that makes me feel more at home. Everyone says “I love my band family” or “I love my theater family” but I truly think journalism is the best family.
Every yearbook page, every news article, every social media post, and every photo taken required dedication from someone and I am proud to be one of those people. A person whose selfless role is to tell every one else’s story and to document this time in our lives. So out of all the goodbyes I have had to say throughout my life, saying goodbye to journalism is for sure the hardest. A few words of advice for everyone who is reading, never give up no matter how hard it gets and remember your story is always worth sharing.
