During my freshman year, I spent a lot of time avoiding change. Even though I was surrounded by new classes, clubs, and people, fear and uncertainty always held me back from pursuing new opportunities. For the most part, I tended to stick with the friend group I’d known since middle school and attend only a few club meetings here or there.

Then, halfway through my freshman year, my sister told me about Legacy. She hadn’t taken Newspaper when she was a student at Apex High, but she knew people who had and thought I might be interested. Despite my urge to inch away from change, I had always been interested in journalism and couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. A few weeks later, I finally built up the courage to talk to Mrs. McGee and apply for the class.

My first year in Newspaper was limited due to the pandemic, but I finally got to experience the class fully in my junior year. After a week of training, I and four other staff writers were assigned our first topic of the year: the results of the STUCO election. I was initially nervous as I didn’t know the other writers that well and was only vaguely familiar with how STUCO was structured. However, as our group interviewed Mrs. Nobles and researched and collaborated over the course of a week, my anxiety began to fade. When we eventually published our final draft, I not only knew more about STUCO’s responsibilities, but I also met four new people who I would work with more over the course of the next two years.

From that semester to now, I’ve definitely become more confident in my abilities and grown closer to our school in the process. As a staff writer, I’ve had the opportunity to interview the leads of The Liar, watch Mr. Clark receive the Employee Excellence Award, highlight Band Homecoming, interview new teachers, and so much more. While I used to get nervous at the thought of reporting these big events, writing about them now feels like second nature.

Additionally, Newspaper has allowed me to meet people I wouldn’t have talked to otherwise. Whether we were ranting about our classes or simply reading over each other’s articles, the other staff writers were always open to hearing my thoughts and providing advice (special shoutout to Shivani for always being my personal proofreader). Newspaper provided me with a close-knit community that I could talk to freely, and after having my freshman year cut short and my sophomore year fully online, it was something I needed more than I realized.

As I finish up my last semester in Newspaper, I know I am bound to experience more changes in college. Yet, unlike my freshman-year self, I will no longer actively avoid them. If there is anything Newspaper has taught me over these past three years, it is that embracing change and being open to trying new things (even if they seem scary at first) is always worth it. Although I will miss Legacy, I’m excited for what the future holds, both the known and the unknown.