Going into high school, I had no idea what direction to take. I pretty much picked my electives at random, and I didn’t feel like anything would turn into a real career path for me. By second semester, though, I started to get the first part of an idea.

I had to write a couple of articles for a mock newspaper in Ms. Nobles’s class, and I discovered a love for writing that had previously gone untapped. I spent a ton of time researching and writing about what interested me, and I loved the newfound freedom to write what I wanted instead of just answering prompts. I took that excitement and ran with it when I applied to write for Legacy. 

My first semester on staff was, as one might expect, weird. School was online because of Covid-19, so I was writing, editing, and publishing all of my articles from my bedroom. I wrote a ton of opinion pieces, some of which were better than others. I spent the semester pushing the limits of just how controversial of a topic I could cover, and I really had the chance to grow and learn by researching and putting together articles about political issues.

Junior year saw me pushed further and further out of my comfort zone. School was back in-person, and I turned away from political topics and instead started covering stories that pertained more directly to Apex High. While I was frustrated with this at first, I quickly discovered the value of leaving my opinion out of it and letting the facts speak for themselves. Although I haven’t stopped writing opinion pieces, I’ve grown more confident in my abilities as a writer and journalist to organize the facts and give the reader the opportunity to draw their own conclusions.

This year, I feel like I’ve finally struck a balance between opinion and facts-based journalism as well as between school, community, and national news. When I started writing for Legacy, I only really wanted to write about national or state level political issues because to me, that was all that was important. I’ve since discovered that covering local news is some of the best work that I can do as a journalist. While a bus driver shortage or an event at a local animal shelter may not seem as exciting as the polarizing stories that come out of Washington, D.C., they are just as important (if not more so) in the lives of the people who read what I write.

I’ve wanted to be a journalist for a few years now, but what that means to me has changed. I want to be a journalist who answers the questions that people can’t find the answers to themselves. I want to challenge misinformation and put facts where they are accessible to people because at the end of the day that’s what journalism is about. It’s not a race to have the most exciting or controversial topic, but rather a collaborative effort to get information to people.

This August, I’ll leave Apex for UNC Chapel Hill where I’m planning to study statistics and analytics. Although I’m not majoring in journalism, I’ve kept it as my ultimate goal, and I hope to use what I learn in college to effectively communicate with people about data and what it means. I don’t know where my career will end up, but I do know that whatever path I take has been permanently altered by this program that I’m so, so grateful to have been a part of.