My life has been a rollercoaster of indecisiveness. I spent a lot of time trying to figure everything out: what I want to eat, what time I was going to bed, and even what album I was going to shuffle at that moment. However, the most difficult decision I’ve had to make has to go to do with my life after high school. What was I going to do with my life? I’ve bounced around different career paths like psychiatrist, musician and a teacher.
For me, looking back on it, I should’ve known I would decide on a journalist. Telling stories has always been my creative outlet. Finding moments and describing them with whatever detail I have is not only a learning experience, but a lot of fun for me.
The first interview-based story I ever had published was about the floral design classes brand new flower cooler. It was a weak story, but I got to learn things about that class and share them for the community to read about. It put into place what would later become what I want to do with my life.
I think my “breakthrough” story that showed me my potential as a writer was a story I wrote about alumni Matt Daspit. His journey trying to make it in the music industry was one of my all-time favorites and one of my best. I wrote it my sophomore year and it ended up placing second place at a state journalism competition.
At this time in my life, the never-ending question started haunting me. I had no clue what field I wanted to pursue. It felt like music was the only thing I was good at. I had just gotten into the varsity ensemble at school, but it just felt like an impossible career. The chance of me making it anywhere in that industry was low. I guess I didn’t realize it, but I was slowly falling in love with writing.
The second semester, my sophomore year, I wrote a number of stories. I wrote about a number of things: opinions, sports and more sports. I then had the spontaneous idea to try out for an editor position, thinking it was never going to happen. However, I was very wrong.
Junior year, I was named news editor for the school newspaper. I was going through a lot at the time. I was balancing a new band director, my stressful personal life, as well as a brand new leadership position. It was difficult trying to find my place in the world and where I belonged.
My new band director was a huge inspiration for me. She fully supported my work as a journalist for the school. One of the first stories I wrote that year was a story on the band’s brand new trailer. She put the story on the door of the band hall for everyone to see. From then on, every fine arts story I’ve written has been posted on that door.
Toward the end of my junior year, I ended up placing third at a competition and earning a Best of SNO story. That year, I learned how skilled I am as a writer. I left the class that year learning and understanding that journalism is something that I want to pursue for the rest of my life.
