SELF REFLECTION
It seems ironic that my last year of scholastic journalism would end up teaching me the most about myself. Throughout the first semester as editor-in-chief, I climbed to peaks of true leadership while simultaneously found myself floundering at rock bottom. And when I did fail and fall to the lowest of lows, I learned. As a result, I find myself more grounded in my abilities and I feel better equipped to handle the challenges that await next semester as well as in college and beyond. Since being promoted to a higher position, I’ve noticed that strong, effective leadership does not happen overnight. And even if one does consider themselves a leader in one aspect or another, they always have room to improve. In the past, I’ve always taken a more passive route in positions of influence. I can communicate well with large groups and I can express my ideas coherently. But one of my biggest problems this issue was com-
munication. When it comes to speaking with people one on one, I feel I was not being as honest and open as I could have been. When discussing issues or problems, I would sometimes shut down and become defensive, only hearing what I wanted to hear. This became detrimental as it created more problems than it solved. The reason behind this may be linked to the type of person I consider myself to be. I have never been a confrontational person but this is because I have never had a lot to confront people about. So when I was put into these situations this year, I learned a lot about how I could improve when having difficult conversations with people. Similarly, I always believed myself to be open-minded. I’ve come to find that you can never be too open-minded. Next semester, I am going to talk less and listen more. Listening thoroughly and attentively is the only sure-fire way to ensure success.
I’ve come to find you can never be too open-minded.
Besides the more abstract concepts, I improved in my physical production skills as well. As I continue to work on Photoshop and InDesign, I have become more in tune on how to operate and create using both of these programs. For instance, when the front page lacked a strong picture in September, Sara and I worked together to create a compelling illustration that gave the paper a new and clean look. I have also improved in editing, cropping, cutting out, and enhancing the pictures we use on the paper. I continue to practice my Photoshop and InDesign skills to hopefully work at a print magazine in the future. As far as deadlines, I feel life is always belaboring the lesson of time management. Although I was, for the most part, on top of my assignments, I would often prioritize certain pieces or articles over others. Now prioritization can be helpful when tackling a 28 page paper, but this often lead to my less significant pieces being done late. I also learned that almost every single person struggles with deadlines so when components of pages are late, it is important to address the issue as soon as humanly possible. This leads into dedication. Because we encountered so many of instances of people completing articles late or not completing articles at all, I learned how to fill in the blanks. The week I feel showcased my dedication to the paper the most was when Sara and I conducted almost 20 interviews in one day, spent at least an hour each day in Star-
bucks before school, and wrote 2 or 3 articles along with the front page. I am not one for doing other people’s work for them but when the paper is on a strict deadline, it becomes a do or die situation. Finally, my sense of journalism ethics have heightened in the current political climate. It is impossible to ignore the outside tensions, especially when they seep into the walls of the classroom. So as a result, objectivity and research are a priority when it comes to the paper. Ethics are single handedly the most important aspect of any publication or media organization ever. So to place emphasis on this, I will continue to monitor for fairness, equity, strong research, and neutrality in all sections of the paper. I have seen this already throughout the year as people are interviewing those with views that waiver on both sides of an issue and opinion writers are researching the opposite side as heavily as they research their side. So I hope to keep this trend up and have constructive conversations with others when it falters. My goals for the future fall under the communication category. I hope to have an open dialogue at all times with every member of the staff and to check in more often. I feel the more frequent meetings have benefited everyone as a whole. I also feel our December issue exemplified what we are trying to do with our paper. Because of the work we did and the work we are doing, I am looking forward to the next semester.
C E F I ON E T L R #1
My most significant contributions this year all took place during the October issue. The combination of late articles and little time proved to be deadly. In the midst of writing the front page article, Sara and I had to fill in the blanks in order to have a 28 page paper. To do this, we first made a list of missing interviews and a list of stories that we needed to write entirely. With our goal penned on the whiteboard, we set off. We spent the rest of our day pulling students out of class and hunting down teachers and admin. There were dangers along the road. In a momentary lapse of judgment, both Sara and I had failed to take our IDs to the library to interview Mr. Flamm about
ID policy. Needless to say, we were about 10 seconds from a referral. In total, Sara and I interviewed 20 people in one day. Then came the writing of the articles. We stuck in quotes to the pieces that needed them and drafted new stories from scratch. The rest of the week we spent early mornings in the Starbucks on Carefree highway writing and editing and writing some more. Because of our efforts, the paper was not reduced to 24 pages. Maintaining continuity in the issues of the paper was worth the hours spent in coffee shops and 6 accumulated absences. Obviously in the future, we do not want to do this again. To avoid this, we are continuing to check up on writers and editors more frequently.
Needless to say, we were about 10 seconds from a referral.
T E AR T E E S H S
SEPT-
front page: story, graphic, teasers
opinion: confederate statues graphic
style: article
OCT-
front page: story
opinion: gun control pro
news: gun control
NOV-
front page: crash course
front page: crash course
food: vegetarian thanksgiving
DEC-