My freshman year was one full of fear and confusion. 14-year-olds entering high school are already instilled with the fear of not fitting in, being alone, and of the future. Now, there is an added layer of danger—everyone in the school environment was a danger to one another. Finding comfort in the little things was the only way to make it through that time of tragedy.
Expressing passion and feeling with art had become an outlet—a place for all the thoughts in my head to flow out, even the ones I could not bring myself to say aloud. Traditional art turned into impressionism. Impressionism turned into poetry. Poetry turned into creative writing. My emotions had been pushed down for so long; this new and welcoming space for them came as such a relief.
I had been excelling in my freshman English class all year. The recommendation for sophomore honors English came as no surprise, but it didn’t feel like enough. I found myself looking for more English-related courses that my school offered, the only year-long course being journalism.
It was something I had never considered I would be good at. Everything I enjoyed about writing until that point had been about freedom and the lack of guidelines. I did, however, decide to see it through. This was one of the best decisions I could have made.
Journalism is about reporting to the public: news, entertainment, sports. Anything that was in demand of content needed to be written. It is such a unique form of writing that, from a consumer standpoint, there is no room for individuality. Journalism is about reporting to the public, but not solely. Journalism is about finding a voice, and I have been lucky enough to do just that.
Being an author is more than just being able to tell a story. It is being able to connect with a generation’s minds. Journalism must achieve this same connection but in the real world. There are no characters for the audience to relate to or new worlds for people to yearn for, but a connection must still be made.
Finding your voice, especially during adolescence, seems impossible. We are not kids anymore, we do not feel quite like teenagers, and we are not yet adults. It is the time of our life designated to find ourselves, which holds the potential for our futures. To be able to find a path that suits your interest is more difficult than it seems, which is why journalism has not only given me hope for the future but hope for myself. I have discovered my voice and how to use it.
VoiceLine 
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