MY STORY

Personal Narrative

My interest in journalism has always been present in my life, as my mother worked in Public Relations, and my dad worked in broadcast journalism. Since sixth grade, I have taken a journalism class each year; however, I did not understand the structures of writing until eighth grade. What challenged me at first was how to fit a mountain of information into a page or less. While formulas usually helped me, the concise nature of news stories intimidated me. This instantly drew me more into feature writing, which followed, at times, a more chronological structure, and allowed for creative liberties to best suit the story. My first step into published journalism was working under the Portfolio, a newspaper at Bak Middle School of the Arts. There, I learnt about the extent of workload, and the seriousness of the deadlines. It opened up new obstacles for me, because I often would be afraid to approach people, and I had only a pen and a notepad to record interviews. By November though, I began to internalize the process of reaching out to sources, getting interviews, writing, and editing. Additionally, I downloaded a recording app to document interviews. This is when I was able to look past the stress and appreciate reporting.

In 2023, I joined the Marquee yearbook, with even tighter deadlines and more content. Luckily by then, I have gotten over any fear of approaching people. What was a problem, though, was finding who to contact. Often, stories required me to talk to people two grades ahead of me, and no connection whatsoever. It forced me to reach out to people I know have a relation to that person, or occasionally going through Instagram direct messages. This wasn’t a foolproof method though, because sometimes the interviewee will never respond. At the beginning of the year, this terrified me because I would be in limbo for days. Now, though, I have learned to simply move in if they don’t respond in a timely manner, or to track them down in person through accounts of where they sit in the morning/lunch/class.

My passion was only amplified by my experience at the Florida Scholastic Press Association, an event that hosted the ever-growing number of student journalists across the state. Being surrounded by such talented writers increased not only the confidence in my own writing, but also the state of press for the future. The breakout sessions also opened my mind to make connections between current trends and events, and the contents of the 2024-25 yearbook.

For the future, I hope to keep diving deeper into journalism. I was promoted as the Coverage Editor of the Marquee Yearbook in 2024, and I plan to use the role to provide both the truth, and the emotions of the student body. Being able to show truthfulness and conversationalism will help in interviews, and interactions within the career. Public relations attracts me the most, due to the family ties and the constant flow of meetings and press releases, which interest me in their content. Additionally, I would love to work alongside people to help present their best side to the world.

Relevant Classes & Workshops

• Creative Writing I

• AICE English Language AS

• AICE English General Paper 1

• Speech 1 & 2

• TV Production Tech 1

• Public Relations Society of America Sunshine District SunCon Conference - AP Track - June 2023

• Walsworth Yearbook Conference - August 2023