When I was eight years old, my brother came home with his school newspaper, “SilverChips,” and his name was next to an article. At age 11, my sister came home from school with a copy of the Churchill Observer with an article she wrote. When I was 14 years old, I signed up for classes. I saw journalism and selected it, desperate to follow in my sibling’s footsteps.
I was never the best writer; words didn’t come to me the way numbers did. However, the Churchill Observer changed all of that for me. Even though I doubt my AP skills and grammar have improved three years later, I learned the importance of sharing topics that were important to me, skills that I will take with me to college and the rest of my life. The paper gave me a voice and an outlet. Most importantly, it gave me a sense of community.
High school was a whole lot of change: learning what I was good at, losing friends and gaining them, failing my first test, saying goodbye to my upperclassmen friends and so much more. Change was scary, but journalism was the one thing that stayed consistent throughout my high school career. Semester after semester, I was in the same class with the same kids, although my tasks varied from year to year to year. After two years of immense training, I am so grateful that this year, along with one of my best friends, I had the privilege of maintaining the online section of the Observer.
No matter what kind of week I have, the bell always rings at noon, and I get to spend 45 minutes in the cramped production room, having the most memorable conversations of my life. Every student was there for different reasons. Sure, some of us were aspiring journalists, but others needed a filler class or wanted to improve at writing. Even though we were all so different, crossing paths with each other was the best thing that ever happened to me throughout high school.
As I spend the last few weeks of high school reminiscing four years and excited for the future, my best memories come from Room 243. I’ve laughed in that room, cried (more times than you would think), and formed some of the most important connections of my life. I am so incredibly proud of my graduating class and the seniors on the Churchill Observer staff that after three incredible years and a long three days in the Big Apple, I can now call some of my closest friends.
I am so excited for the next chapter of my life at the University of Illinois and can’t wait to see what is in store for me, even though moving 600 miles away from my two junior best friends is bittersweet. I will forever be indebted to the Churchill Observer for giving me these girls and graduating without them is incredibly sad. However, the Observer is being left in good hands, and I do not doubt that.
After spending four years reading each senior section that came out in May, my brain can’t wrap my head around the fact that I am writing my last-ever article for the Churchill Observer. I still feel like the miniature sophomore J1 who would read articles from upperclassmen longing to one day get published. Surprise Sneha!! You did it!
