The Rhythm of Writing

Yuriana Espino relates her experiences in Mariachi del Sol to the MINE journalism program, while sharing the stories of first-time writers in the class.

Yuriana Espino Sosa Kenneth Meyer

During freshman year, I was in a band class where only five students knew how to play an instrument and the rest had never touched one. I picked up the vihuela because it was small and felt more comfortable to hold. Equipped with five sensitive strings, you have to play with your fingernails. The chords didn’t make sense to me at first and the notes just looked like a bunch of random lines on a piece of paper. I felt myself staring at the set of music, trying to figure out what the accents on each line meant, or how to even play the measures. I took the instrument home and practiced on my own for hours. It was a struggle. I played through pain, my fingers aching and blistered, continually pressing on the strings and strumming chords.

The sensation of being on stage took me to another world, standing in front of the mic, the bright lights illuminating my face. It was my first time singing in front of a crowd. Then people started applauding and cheering. My heart raced, but I sang loud and proud.

In a way, music is a lot like writing. When I walked into the journalism class for the first time my junior year I had no idea what a profile, pitch, or even a feature meant. It was like learning music, starting from the bottom again.

When putting a set list for a performance together you can’t play five consecutive songs with the same rhythm because you’ll make the audience want to leave. It’s the same thing when making a magazine. You can’t run ten sports stories and one narrative, or readers might close the book.

Many students come into journalism with no experience. Jericho Truett had never even heard of profile before coming into journalism advisor Ivan Miller’s classroom. Truett emailed Christian Dixon, an artist who first joined the Air Force and has now developed into quite the artist. Truett heard back from Dixon within a week and did his first interview. Confused, Truett laid out the quotes in an order that made sense, thinking he was done. Soon enough, epiphany dawned on him and realized he needed to write a story. He pumped out a first draft in two days, and eventually it turned into a strong profile.

Audrey Sommerville came into Miller’s introductory journalism class in the first semester of her freshman year. Sommerville was just trying to navigate a classroom setting, after two years away, especially in a brand new school. She liked the way Miller taught, and going on a backpack trip with the older journalism students made her want to come back the next year. Sommerville joined the Miller’s integrated outdoor program her sophomore year. When it came to writing, she couldn’t get past a few paragraphs. Unmotivated and struggling, she didn’t know what to do.

Miller’s writing class gave Sommerville a different perspective. It didn’t feel like a class, more like a group of motivated students. She reached out to Calvin Royal III, a ballet dancer, wanting to write about dance, which has been her passion for seven years. She came across Royal III through Instagram and five days later set up an interview. It took about three weeks to draft up a story.

Journalism allows people from different backgrounds and knowledge in writing to come together and make a magazine. We create the Miller Integrated Nature Experience (MINE) as we go.

MINE allows students to open their minds and discover what they’re capable of. It gave me a voice to express myself through the art of storytelling. Just like Truett and Summerville, other students have no idea how to set up an interview, draft stories, transcribe an interview, or make a magazine in general. Just like in music, practice builds confidence and kids who come up with the most wonderful ideas. Miller’s writing class not only teaches students how to write, it gives them a voice. MINE brings together a diverse group of students with the hopes of making the best magazine in the United States.