SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Initially, I didn’t want to take journalism. I loved to write, yes, but I was more worried about my future and what would look better for me. I had originally decided on taking Spanish 3, as it would definitely look better on college applications.

The only problem with this option; I wasn’t good at Spanish. It’s quite ironic, but I didn’t have good experiences in my past Spanish classes, meaning that Spanish 3 was going to be difficult for me. Journalism was starting to look like the better option, but the voice in my head told me to commit to Spanish. I had to take a World Language class, and that was final.

In the end, I decided to change my mind. The reason I changed my mind? Abby Cordobes is that reason.

Abby convinced me to join journalism with her, seeing as we both liked writing and we really wanted to have a class together. The last time we had an actual class with each other was in 6th grade, so it’s been a while. When she made that fact clear to me, I immediately changed my mind, deciding that I should just go with my passion instead of doing what I felt I had to do. 

When editor applications were available, I didn’t think I would ever be applying to become a section editor for the year. I have a lot of social anxiety, and over quarantine, it had gotten distressing. I, again, was pushed out of my comfort zone by Abby and I decided to apply for the News section editor. Never in a million years did I think I would be editing articles and having a blast doing it.

This class is beneficial for others to take because it’s not just about writing articles and getting your work published. This class is so much more than that. It’s helped me grow as a person and Ms. Newray doesn’t just nag us about the newspaper itself, but she takes the time to educate us on different topics and treats us as actual people, which other teachers fail to recognize at times. 

All in all, I’ve learned so much from this class, academically and personally. Working alongside my best friend and other friends, old and new, journalism is single-handedly one of the only subjects I look forward to attending during the day. If it weren’t for Abby, I would probably have had a dreadful junior year. I’m looking forward to seeing what the 2022-2023 school year hold for the Raider Review.

See you all next year!