Before this year, I had little to no prior knowledge of journalism. I came into my senior year oblivious, not knowing what to expect, but I still gave it a try because I knew I enjoyed interacting with people and learning about them. Luckily, I had two great teachers, Mrs. Munsie and Ms. Galvan, to show me the rules of the road in journalism, as I felt like a deer in headlights in the very beginning.

A lot of times at the end of high school, we catch ourselves at these points where we start telling ourselves, “ I wish I had done this” or “If I had done this.” For me, journalism is one of those things that I wish I could have just started a little bit earlier.

I’m glad to say that next year, I will be attending Northern Illinois University. I fully plan on writing for their school paper and continuing the path that I started here at East. Joining East Side News not only made me a better writer and journalist, but it also helped me form connections with people and create many memories.

Never would I have thought writing down information would be fun, but writing for East changed that. I was fortunate enough to compete twice for Sports Writing and placed both times. Those crunch times when I had to clutch up and put my foot to the petal were gut-wrenching. But it’s times like those that made me fall in love with journalism. 

I was also fortunate, thanks to Mrs. Munsie, to go to the College of Dupage for the NISPA conference, where I got to attend different workshops, learn from different writers, and meet people with different experiences, all within the field of journalism. That was my highlight from journalism this year, as I learned so much information.

Over the past year, I have experienced many ups and downs in my life, and through it all, journalism helped me release stress in a way I didn’t know it could. So, I thank my peers, Mrs. Munsie, and Ms. Galvan, for helping me and supporting me through this year.