You’re picking classes for the upcoming year and stumble across a weird thing called “Printing and Imaging.” Most likely, the first thing to pop into your head is “what the heck is that?” and honestly, I don’t blame you. Printing and Imaging is a boring name for a class that is the complete opposite. I was just like you once. I imagined it was a bunch of people typing serious articles all day in silence, but it’s way more interesting than that.
Journalism isn’t just writing essays. It’s learning how to tell real stories from real people. You get to interview, ask questions, and cover real events happening at your school that other people might not even know about. It feels more important than regular assignments because people actually read and adore what you write. It’s not just your teacher grading it and moving on. It’s getting to experience things no other student can say they have.
Journalism helps you get better at talking to people. If you’re shy or have social anxiety, it might sound scary, but it truly helps over time. As someone who struggled a lot to the point I wouldn’t even talk in online games out of fear, I understand the difficulties behind getting out of that shell. With Newspaper and Journalism, you have a reason to get out there. You have a reason to go up to someone and ask questions, to learn about who they are and what they did, and that makes it so much less nerve-wracking. After a while, it gets easier, and that confidence carries into other aspects of your life. I have had so many amazing experiences making new friends and talking to people simply because I decided to take a fun writing class.
It also teaches you how to think differently. You start noticing things. You notice what’s going on around you, and not just what people say, and you blindly believe. You learn how to tell if something is biased or if it’s truly reliable. It’s an amazing skill to have, especially now when there’s so much false information on places like TikTok or Instagram. I’ve begun asking so many more questions and gotten especially good at tracking down reliable sources. I even fact-check friends sometimes, which they find fairly annoying, but that’s just how being a Journalist is.
And my personal favorite, it can be really fun. Writing doesn’t have to be some painstakingly annoying task that makes you dread it like essays in English class might. You get to take photos, go out to school events for free, design the layout of the print editions and learn new apps like InDesign or Photoshop. While it is a lot of writing, it isn’t just sitting there slaving away nonstop with no breaks. There’s so much creativity and thought behind what goes into making a newspaper.
Journalism isn’t just for people who want to be reporters or work as news anchors in the future. It’s for anyone who wants to understand the world a little better and find their voice in the mess of the world. Even if you’re not sure or scared, it’s definitely worth trying. And if you don’t like it in the end, at least you can say you tried.
To add journalism to your schedule for next year, email your counselor and ask to be placed in Digital Communications of the 21st Century. It’s the prerequisite for taking the newspaper class.
