By Andra Kovacs
For as long as I can remember knowing how, writing has been my everything. Growing up, pen and paper were my release, my most loyal companions, and my tools to figure myself out. Through all the countless poems, journal entries, fifty-page stories, and writing awards, I somehow found myself in high school, presented with a new opportunity: journalism.
By the end of the first year, I had fallen in love with writing all over again, but this time in a much different way. I quickly learned that journalism was not only a way to tell, but also to listen; a way to learn about others, to interpret their experiences, and to tell stories that otherwise would remain only a memory.
I was so used to my comforting fables, where if I didn’t like a part of the story, I could cut it out, I could have control. That’s why journalism was a challenge for me – I had to dig deeper than I had ever been forced to before – I had to pull meaning out of something real.
And that is exactly how journalism has changed my life. It has altered my way of thinking entirely. I find myself constantly taking interesting angles and making mental notes of captivating anecdotes. Everything has potential for a story, and I find myself fully in tune with that prospect. Writing for the newspaper has taught me to listen with a new ear, to learn from others’ experiences, and to write with respect, knowledge and passion.
