I still don’t really know why I took honors journalism my sophomore year. Maybe my older sister took it, or maybe I just picked it because my friends were doing it. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I barely knew anything about journalism. My first assignment was to write a news story using a nursery rhyme. I thought it was sort of dumb, but I went along with it. Over the first half of the class, I still wasn’t super interested. Somehow, I was in a class called honors journalism, yet knew nothing about Tower and didn’t feel connected to it at all. AP Style, attribution and all of the other journalistic words confused me.

It wasn’t until the honors journalism issue in the spring that journalism finally captured my attention. Seeing my work published and in a real newspaper felt like a huge deal, and I was proud of myself. The preplan stressed me out since you weren’t guaranteed to get the story you wanted, but I wanted to challenge myself and decided to take a story with more pressure.

I wrote a feature about the Annual Suicide Prevention Walk in Grosse Pointe, a fairly heavy topic. I had to find adult sources and conduct my first real interviews. What I noticed while writing this story was how much I enjoyed the process: interviewing unique people who had so much to say, who were doing so much for mental health and our community. In that moment, I realized how important journalism is, whether it’s for a high school newspaper or the New York Times. It reveals the world in all of its involvedness, giving voice to stories that are sad, joyful, messy, bittersweet, interesting, political, etc. It uncovers all angles of life.

At the end of my sophomore year, the honors journalism students were asked by our teacher if they were joining Tower or not the next year. I originally said no, even after I had a moving experience and discovered a talent in journalism. But my teacher convinced me by asking me why I wouldn’t continue, what was the purpose of taking honors journalism if I wasn’t going to be a part of Tower? I didn’t have an answer. I was just saying no because it felt easier or because I felt intimidated by joining something that seemed hard or where I lacked expertise.

Now reflecting, Tower has allowed me to freely express myself through my writing. I used to feel uncomfortable with people reading my work or judging my ideas, but that’s changed. It has helped me become more comfortable when sharing my thoughts and feelings in writing and in person, too. Most importantly, Tower has connected me with amazing people who have challenged and inspired me, while strengthening my skills and my passion for writing in ways that will stay with me long after I graduate.