Personal Narrative
Years ago, I wrote pages upon pages filled with stories about aliens, teenagers fighting a mysterious force, mysterious lands far away, and the list went on and on. Words had always circled around in my head, waiting for me to put pen to paper. I used to think I was born to be an author, but it wasn’t until I stepped into the newsroom my sophomore year of high school that those ideas took shape in a completely different way.
The former Editor-in-Chief persuaded me to join The Wolf Howl Newspaper publication staff at Chandler High School, and I was terrified to join a class where I knew no one and had no idea what I was doing. However, I loved writing and knew that I wanted to give it a shot. Day after day, I pushed myself to write all sorts of stories: opinion, news, features, and sports. I found an immense passion for sports writing, sports photography, and content creation, which later led me to become the Sports Editor during my junior year.
When I became an editor, I immediately faced a new kind of pressure. With the seniors gone, only three of us were left to produce an entire issue and mentor a class full of new, inexperienced reporters. The responsibility felt overwhelming as we were still learning ourselves, yet we were expected to lead and teach others. We spent countless late nights developing story plans, designing layouts, and preparing presentations. At times, I struggled to find my footing as a leader. I often doubted whether my peers could rely on me for support and guidance. Looking back, I regret not investing more time in helping the new reporters develop their skills. My junior year taught me invaluable lessons about leadership and the importance of lifting others up. Determined not to repeat my mistakes, I made it my mission to be present during my senior year: circulating the classroom, asking questions, and encouraging reporters to share their story ideas. By doing so, I hoped to help them build confidence and take pride in their work.
During my senior year, I was honored to become Editor-in-Chief of our newspaper. Before the year even began, I promised myself I would help our editors stay focused and inspire our reporters to fall in love with journalism the way I did. I spent my summer break in the library with my computer, designing a new newspaper layout and creating team-building activities to prepare for the year ahead. As the year unfolded, the newspaper ran more smoothly than ever before, even as I faced one of the most difficult challenges of my senior year: tearing the labrum in my hip during the first week of swim season. Being forced to step away from a sport I had fallen in love with left me feeling completely lost, and I struggled to convince myself that I could successfully lead a group of inexperienced reporters while navigating such a significant mental and emotional setback. Despite this, my leadership skills grew far beyond what I ever imagined, and I learned to run the class with greater confidence and ease. While some days were harder than others, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, as I came to realize that my staff was there to uplift me just as much as I was there to support them. Through this experience, I learned that leadership wasn’t about giving orders or simply getting things done; it was about uplifting one another and growing together while learning new skills.
Beyond my responsibilities in the newsroom, I also managed social media accounts for the swim team during my senior year and for both the newspaper and soccer teams during my junior year. Balancing these roles was challenging, but they became a creative outlet for me as I designed game-day and meet-day graphics, produced promotional posts for stories, and made highlight reels for other teams. Through this work, I discovered a passion for digital storytelling and sports media, which helped me realize that this was a field I wanted to pursue.
Now, as a freshman studying Sports Journalism with a minor in Spanish at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, I have begun the next chapter of my journalism journey. Looking back at where I started, I never could have imagined that the stories I once wrote for fun would lead me to a career in journalism. My time at The Wolf Howl gave me the foundation, confidence, and passion to pursue sports journalism, and I am excited to continue building on those experiences in college and beyond.
