There are many ways to do high school. You can get as involved as possible, or you can blend into the background as much as possible.
But what is hard to pull off is doing one thing and then changing to the other.
After spending all of freshman year online, I came to school my sophomore year hoping to become as involved as possible. However, I didn’t know where to even get started.
I don’t know if I did high school right, given that navigating my social life was very hard for me while prioritizing my academics.
I do not regret putting the time into my grades, as it has paid out in the long run. While I miss not being able to do as much as my peers in terms of activities, if given a second chance I would not change anything.
I tried to make high school as meaningful as possible for myself, but I do have one regret: I wish I had taken some of the fun classes Baldwin offers. There are so many opportunities at Baldwin to develop hobbies through electives, and sadly I could not take many of them as they didn’t fit into my schedule.
It’s a good thing to take AP classes, but they are not the only classes you have to take. It is not a requirement that you have to take every single one at the school. You can give yourself a break at least once in the day to do something fun.
I found my solace in taking Newspaper, as I think it was where my involvement in school started.
I have never been an extrovert, and after I signed up to take Newspaper, the thought of having to interview other people felt like a daunting idea. In the beginning, I even perhaps regretted taking the class and questioned why I would even do this to myself. Why would I sign myself up to get outside of my comfort zone?
But now that I look back on my high school years, I am very thankful I did it.
It has been the biggest learning experience for me and has helped me gain confidence.
I have noticed that taking Newspaper has made me good at speaking to others. I noticed this the most during my senior exit interviews.
At first, I was nervous about my answers to the questions my interviewers were asking me. But then I thought of what I would want to hear if I were the interviewer.
Going in for newspaper interviews, we are always looking for good leads. When we ask a question, we are always on the lookout for the kinds of responses that will result in a strong story.
I listened to my journalism instinct during the senior interview and was very happy with the outcome.
Writing no longer feels like something that is a chore, as I find joy in writing out my thoughts now because of the newspaper. My experience with journalism has given me deep respect for the art that it is, and I am very much looking forward to keeping it as a part of my life in the future.
