On the fateful day of April 21st, 2020, Tara Nguyen ruined my life singlehandedly with the blade of a text message.

“You should join journalism next year,” she said. And I was sold on the idea that we could sit next to each other, chit chat during class, write a few goofy articles, and be worry-free. But then the pandemic hit.

Online journalism was not something I was excited for. As someone whose life revolves around music and the performing arts, I initially chose choir as my elective for the 2020-2021 school year. In comparison to taking a singing class with my terrible microphone and Zoom lag, I guess journalism was the much better option.

Journalism introduced me to the world of working in teams. I was not a team player. I hated group projects, I hated group essays, and it would’ve been impossible to catch me choosing to work in a team unless I had to–I felt like a fish out of water. 

When signing up for our roles in journalism, I knew immediately that I would rather edit more and write less. Thus, I applied for Editor of Humans of Silver Creek, and the rest is history.

I had no idea what my responsibilities would entail and how much communication it took to be an editor, but when prompted with those challenges, I was also presented with opportunities of growth. I am indeed an extrovert socially but an introvert academically, and this class allowed me to talk to people whom I would have never spoken to otherwise. 

To be frank, I had been living in a bubble before journalism, unknowingly thinking I knew everybody. I quickly realized this wasn’t true. Interacting with other staff members and staff writers in journalism, reading their stories about our peers, and taking a peek into their world fostered a new appreciation for the people at Creek. Faces you would see during passing period, faces you’d recognize but never know the names of, faces with rich and intriguing stories you’d never know unless you asked. I had the pleasure of not only learning names, but hearing stories, and making connections that I’ll remember for years beyond this one.

I wanted to join journalism for a friend, but I’ll leave with so much more than that.

 Thank you, Tara, for ruining my life.