Looking back, joining my high school’s newspaper publication was one of the best decisions I ever made. I was definitely one of those kids who was super academic and felt obligated to join extra curricular activities for my college application. Plus, my older sister is super bossy and insisted I joined. Aside from that, I had no expectations or idea of what I was getting myself into. Now, I chuckle at how much that has changed my life.
Starting on the bottom as a staff writer, writing articles made me develop a love-hate relationship with journalism. I never aspired to be a writer! On top of having seven classes a day (most AP’s), I was always expected to do better, meet tight deadlines, and learn to swim after being flung into the deep end of Associated Press style (journalism guidelines, otherwise known as AP style). Most importantly, journalism forced me to confront one of my biggest fears. I struggled with writing all of my life (and still do occasionally), so I had to work longer and harder than the average student just to compete. Unfortunately, I was embarrassed and ashamed of my limited abilities and was not very open to receiving help. Luckily, some editors saw how hard I worked and quickly absorbed me into their sphere of influence. Although they were not the editors I had to report to, they were the ones I could rely on for help and advice. Not all editors are great, but those who reached out to me made me realize my true potential. To this day, I am still extremely grateful for their overwhelming faith. Without them, I would not even have the courage to apply to a liberal arts college (with an infamous amount of writing!).
I found my “win” moment when I finally rose the ranks to head editor of the “Student Life” section, a three-page section in a 12-page, five section paper (in other words, this was a pretty big deal). However, my promotion was bittersweet. A lot of s*** hit the fan that year: my co-editor went MIA in his responsibilities*, other section editors lagged behind, writers were not getting the attention they deserved, the Editors-in-Chiefs were basically nonexistent, and we had our fourth journalism advisor in four years. After years of glorified journalism, our paper was slowly dying.
I still don’t really know how it happened, but over time, writers kept coming to me for help and advice when they did not know who to ask. I started staying after school for at least an hour every day, teaching them how to use InDesign and Photoshop, edited their articles, and just talked with them about their day. After a while, the other editors started coming to me too for help on how to manage their sections and design their desired graphics. I did not realize it at the time, but my increased responsibilities and strengthened relationships with staff members greatly boosted my credibility and leadership potential. Although I was never officially Editor-in-Chief, I might as well have been.
At the end of the year, I was extremely proud of how far we’ve come. Although we were not the best student publication in the country, I could not be more happy with the results and my staff. It was so embarrassing, but at our end-of-the-year banquet, I teared up (more like cried) with immense pride when my writers and “students” received deserving awards for their work. However, when the Editor-in-Chiefs presented me my award, they gave me “Most Likely to Be Found in the Computer Lab.” Ouch.
Of course I felt bad and invalidated, but I did not expect the wonderful reaction of my peers. A lot of my writers and staff were indignant that I was given such low recognition for my work and proceeded to come up to me, personally thanking me for my work and contributions. That was my “win” moment.
To me, a “win” moment means you’ve hit a sort of nirvana in your career; where everything you worked for finally comes together in a fulfilling way. You would never trade anything for that experience. This moment defined who I truly am and was the peak of my high school career. I cannot tell you how incredibly important this was in establishing my sense of self. The person that emerged from that banquet was the person my parents saw at graduation receiving my diploma and the person they see today.
The funny thing I learned about this entire journey is that journalism itself was not my nirvana. I did not leave high school wanting to study journalism at college or make it my life’s work. It was not my calling. Ultimately, it was the people and the work we did that made everything matter. I go back to my high school every year to check up on my writers. One is at Northwestern pursuing a major in journalism. Another was just appointed Editor-in-Chief this year. I feel as proud as a mama duck! Also, of you want to know, I am still in contact with my fabulous previous editors!
Today, I am looking for my next “win” moment. My next career nirvana. Since attending college, I continued to work in journalism publications for the Scripps Voice. This year marks my seventh year in the field! A lot of things changed for me since starting college and sometimes I feel like I am back in freshman year of high school. I still experience self-doubt and uncertainty with my decisions. Yet, I will never forget the feeling of working with people you care about towards a greater goal. In the next stage of my career, this will be my motivation. I believe that every day is a new adventure and by doing things we love and always striving for the very best, we can eventually find our way to our own nirvana.
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* I don’t blame him. He was working on science fair project that was on the way to curing cancer. Now he’s in some IVY league school.