Going into my junior year I found my passion by being pushed out of my comfort zone. As I have always loved writing in English, an opportunity came to me to write but in a different way. The help of others it helped sparked my passion which is now something I find to be my safe place. Journalism is something I jumped right into and now in my senior year I found my voice in it.
Growing up I always felt as though I was left out and misheard. This was due to never having a stable household and not having actual parents. I felt as though I was never heard, my voice was lost.
A teacher from my freshman year reached out to me at the end of my sophomore year to talk about the newspaper class he teaches. As he experienced my writing firsthand through his class he had hoped I could grow in his class. He saw something in me where he could see me writing and contributing to his class. His belief in me gave me hope and determination to do better. Now looking back on it I have played a much bigger role in the class than I could ever imagine or anticipated. I am in a leadership position as the managing editor, this has made me reflect on how much I have grown in my writing and voice. I was nervous about trying something new, I had no idea how to write a story. But now writing is second nature to me because of the help I received from everyone.
Writing about others sparked my joy because I was developing my writing style and voice while giving someone else a voice by telling their story. I’ve learned that advocating for others is my strong suit and that it is a result of not having anybody advocating for me as a child. It meant a lot to me to spread others stories because everything I had been through when growing up. Gaining my voice back is what’s driving me to continue my passion into college and go into communications.
Writing about others has given me a passion for journalism because it gives me a voice and helps others gain a voice. Having a voice now is something I’ve wished for since I was young. When writing stories I took my compassion and put it towards others stories. I learned to work with others on creating a story and to be sensitive to situations, this made me care more about being accurate and correct. If it weren’t for journalism I wouldn’t have gained the confidence I have today and I wouldn’t have shared others stories.
