Being a high school student in journalism, there comes a lot of responsibilities, work, and dedication. Sometimes you will lose your confidence or it can be hard to think of new ideas. But journalism brings happiness in people’s lives, it brings relief and confidence. Some people think that all journalism is, is writing, taking videos, and editing things, but journalism is much more. You use it in almost everyday life without realizing it.
I wondered if I was a good enough writer, thinker, or storyteller. Coming into high school, I hadn’t even thought about college and what I was gonna do after high school. Until my sophomore year my mom signed me up for journalism class.
In the past years, my English teachers had told me I was a good writer and I didn’t really see it until I won my first Best of SNO award which is an award that the School Newspapers Online website chooses the best stories and basically puts a label on your story and certificate saying you’ve been chosen for one of the best stories that week or month. This really gave me more confidence and changed my perspective. My mom had gone to college to study journalism, which is how I’m in this position, in the greatest class I’ve ever been in.
Not only is journalism a lot of work, but it has given me a sense of the real world. Recently, I’ve lost my hope with journalism and it has been hard to come up and think of stories to type down. Until I visited Mizzou’s journalism school and it showed me how much people have fun with what they are doing and how great and supportive a community could be.
High school has been really stressful for me. I have always had my journalism classroom to come to that makes me feel comfortable, like a second home where I’m able to write or type things down without feeling judged or criticized. Everyone has their own perspective in today’s world on journalism. But the thing is, we NEED journalism. We need it everyday. Journalists keep us informed about the world. In the day and age of fake news and random garbage that is being put out into the world it is easy to believe everything you see and hear. Journalists bring positivity into our society when things are going on like this today.
When I came back to my hometown after going out to Mizzou to visit, all of a sudden there was this light that just switched on in my brain telling me that this career is what I need and want to follow. At that moment I knew that journalism was my passion.
