I ripped a page out of my science notebook. While all the other kids threw pencils around the class or slept, I just had the urge to write. I grabbed the pencil and I began creating my own story with aliens and monsters. I didn’t expect anyone to read it, it was more to pass the time. That’s when my 4th grade RELA teacher approached me and asked what I was doing. I handed her the piece of paper, and was utterly surprised at her reaction.

She began to examine the words, and looked almost focused, unlike the uninterested response I expected. She then surprise me even more. She complimented my work. Ever since then, I’ve always felt proud and confident in my writing ability, and I hoped to push forward with my passion.

It’s a shame I gave up on it. There really wasn’t a specific event that drove me away, it was more of a couple specific reasons. I wanted to become an author and write stories like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, but when I was told that the career was unstable and it could be hard to make money, I didn’t want to struggle in the future. Another reason was my smaller school. There were no classes or electives that gave me an outlet. So with the difficulty to express myself, I buried down my love for writing , and used it as more of a tool rather than my dream.

I spent the next couple of years trying to find future career paths to replace my previous aspirations, but it felt miserable. I tried coding and electronics, but it gave me a headache looking at lines of random numbers. Although one of my main hobbies was playing video games, making them seemed too complicated for me. 

In 8th grade, I took the school’s yearbook class. I thought that it would be a fun, easy elective. This was my first introduction to journalistic content, as I took photos and created graphics. Most importantly, I was reintroduced to writing, after many years of it being kept in the background of my mind. It wasn’t enough to keep me interested though, and I decided to choose other classes going into high school. 

Near the beginning of high school, I thought that maybe culinary was something worth pursuing, even though I barely ever cooked. I looked into restaurant management and  being a private chef, and I thought that I finally found something to pursue. Unfortunately, culinary wasn’t for me, and I was once again lost, with nothing to look forward to.

At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was told that my culinary class would cross over my track period, and I had the choice between the two. I decided to choose culinary, as I really had no love for track. This was a blessing in disguise, as I was then put into the alternative class I chose, Intro to Photojournalism. 

I chose this because I thought that it would be similar to the yearbook class, and it shouldn’t be too hard to do. At first it was nothing too serious, just a couple of tips and tricks on taking photos. Then, we did our first writing assignment, and I was given the task of writing about someone in the school and their background. That was the first time I ever wrote a story in that journalistic style, and surprisingly, I loved it. The more and more the class went on, I began to feel like my spark for writing was back.

I applied to be a staff member, and chose to join the yearbook. Creating the graphics wasn’t necessarily where my head was at, but instead it was the writing I did for the pages that made me once again find my passion.  After the school year, I saw that there was a journalism camp during the summer. I attended, and after that I haven’t looked back since.

Journalism has given me that long sought after outlet that I’ve wanted since I was a kid. I can finally have a way to write stories and meet new people, while not having to worry about the sustainability of my future. I have connected with so many people with the same passion, and I hope to continue to get better at what I do every day.

If you love something, whether it be a hobby or a dream, don’t ever let it go. Even if it’s not the clearest path, there is always a way to express the qualities that make up who you are.