The past eight months as a part of Redwood’s journalism program have been nothing short of transformative, inspiring, and most of all increasingly valuable as I continue through my years as a student and prepare for life beyond my education. Coming into this program I knew to expect a challenge. Journalism was completely uncharted waters for me, as it was for many of my peers. As someone with a perfectionist mindset, the unknown is what intimidated me the most. I could’ve predicted the writer's block, the struggle for stories, and the late nights scrambling towards a deadline. What I couldn’t have predicted, however, was watching the deadline pass me by, leaving me in the dust completely lost and unsure of how to proceed.

Earlier this year, I struggled tremendously towards the deadline for our large feature project, and I ultimately barely managed to complete it and certainly not up to the standards I had hoped. That experience definitely left a mark on me. I spent day after day breaking down, overwhelmed, trying to balance the commitments to my dance team, education, and my family. I remember feeling like I had truly failed myself. What I learned from this is that my failure did not define me, but how I responded to it does. 

Journalism pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me that “perfect” isn’t always realistic especially when balancing multiple responsibilities and working under pressure. Over time I began to realize that it’s the mess that matters. The late nights, missed expectations, moments of frustration, and uncertainty were not signs that I was incapable; they were the moments that made me grow the most. I learned how to ask for help, manage my time in a more effective manner, and give myself grace when things don’t go according to my plan, something I will continue to work towards. Most importantly, however, this course has helped me grow out of my perfectionist mindset, and while it will always be a part of me, I continue to learn and understand that the most meaningful growth comes from the experiences that feel the messiest in the moment.

So yes, I understand the severity of a missed deadline, and while I can assure both myself and The Bark staff that it will never happen again, if I could go back to change the reality of my feature project I don't think I would. The stress, disappointment, and growth have equipped me with the proper tools to avoid it in the future, something I don't know I would have gained otherwise. 

I plan to carry these valuable lessons close to my heart as I advance through my next two years of high school and even further beyond. I have dreamt of being a pediatric neurologist to treat children with developmental disabilities in whichever way possible, extending my heart to them with patience and empathy. I have since realized I cannot achieve this without first reciprocating the same sentiment to myself. 

So while I expected to leave this class with a greater knowledge of professional journalism, which I certainly have, it has also prepared me for a world of possibilities, teaching me how to no longer confine myself to the bounds of my own mind.   

All four semesters I’ve been at Redwood, I have been an active member in our school’s associated student body leadership class. Coming into the class, I was carrying the weight of a big legacy to uphold: that of my sister’s who was the ASB president, having graduated the year prior. My place in Leadership has given me a voice in our school, but more importantly it has given me a community to rely on when I need it most. What I have learned in the hundreds of days I have woken up before the sun is not that leadership is a one man endeavor in fact it is quite the opposite. The very purpose of leadership is to create a sense of belonging for the student body at Redwood, something I have learned happens outside the classroom. It is the little moments when you see a friendly face in the hallway, or that one person overly dressed up for our random spirit days that no one participates in that make Redwood a community. Whatever the small gesture may be, leadership has taught me to always be that person.

Throughout my years, I have also take on smaller leadership roles; Sixth and seventh grade class president, leadership team member at my dance studio, Vice President of Unified Friends Club, yearbook junior editor, and a dance teacher for 3-5 year olds… Each of these positions have put me in communities much larger than just myself. They have taught me to lead with empathy, grace, and patience, but also given me an immense gratitude for the opportunities I have today. These positions stick with me most notably in terms of mentorship.

Among these positions, I also was the Cub News Editor for our JAM 1-2 course. This role, significantly different from any others, has put me in scenarios where I am leading people of my own age, at the same teenager stage in life, all working towards a similar goal. My peers weren’t looking for a mentor, they were looking to me as a part of a process to achieve the goal of getting published. This was a very new aspect of leadership I hadn’t seen of myself before. This position taught me to be stern, and an upholder of nothing but the truth no matter the circumstance. Although my empathy and patience was able to spill over into this new line of work, a new side of me was unlocked and through my cooperation with two other news editors and our Barkies, we had a major success in putting out the first four pages of the Cub edition newspaper.

This role further taught me that leadership is nothing without execution. We got caught up more than once in unfulfilled promises of photos being taken, and we were left to problem solve. It could’ve been easy to sit there and watch the stories fester and grow unimportant, but we chose to integrate them by pulling through last minute infographics. In this role, I edited a multitude of stories and got them ready for print, I wrote the first page news story, and I laid out the second page print news. These were all major accomplishments for me, and as I continue through my journey at Redwood, I will never forget this new sense of leadership this position brought me.