I love school, I always have. Even in middle and high school I liked going, for the most part. I wasn't popular with a ton of friends or anything, I just loved learning. Most people have memories from high school through things like sports, theater events, or just hanging out with friends. However, most of my memories are from classes, and consist of the teachers and assignments or projects.

One such memory is the journalism class I took as a freshman. I took this class because my cousin convinced me to take it with her, and partially because I thought it would be an easy A. I had zero plans of ever doing anything journalism-related in my life. I never wanted to write; in fact, I hated writing growing up and despised writing papers for class. Writing was a weak spot for me and I hated that. Always striving for perfection, I had a tendency to avoid what I struggled with.

I don't remember a whole lot about the class. I remember sitting next to my cousin, getting in trouble for talking, and passing notes back and forth. I didn't take the class seriously...until I did.

This started off being a vague article about taking a journalism class once upon a time, but in going down memory lane, I realized that deep down this love of writing and editing has always been there.

During October, we were assigned to work together to create a fall/Halloween newsletter. I've always loved Halloween, but more than that, when we were younger, my cousin and I always played "house" and pretended to create magazines. We were very excited to finally create something real that would be printed and seen by people. The newsletter was only a few pages long, and the small class was split into groups to do different sections such as making a crossword puzzle, a list of good Halloween movies, and some local urban legends. My cousin and I were put in charge of overseeing the entire project. We had to collect the pieces from everyone and put them all together. I also volunteered to add a section on the history of Halloween. Everything went well, until we lost almost the whole thing just a day before printing. I remember sitting in the computer lab retyping everything, and while I was furious, I actually loved it.

...this class ended up being significant for me, even if it took me 10 years to realize it.

This was my first taste of writing and editing, and honestly, I didn't think much about it until writing this. This started off being a vague article about taking a journalism class once upon a time, but in going down memory lane, I realized that deep down this love of writing and editing has always been there. I truly enjoyed that class. I loved having that freedom to write what I wanted; I loved putting together everyone's work to create one cohesive piece; most importantly, I loved the encouragement I received from my teacher.

She was one of those teachers who truly seemed to care and enjoy the subject she was teaching. Lacking the confidence to write, she always encouraged me. By the end, I was volunteering to write more. She taught a class that, so often, was taken advantage of. People like me, looking for an easy A, weren't actually interested in the class. But this class ended up being significant for me, even if it took me 10 years to realize it.

This class was the beginning of all this. It sparked an interest in something I had always avoided. I gained skills in that class that I still use to this day, skills that weren't just writing. I learned how to organize information, and people, in that class. I learned valuable leadership skills while being in charge of that newsletter. I am so grateful I took that journalism class freshman year. Thank you to my cousin, Alyssa, for making me take it with her, and thank you to Mrs. Isaacs, who truly taught and encouraged me to write.