It's a pretty cool experience to see something you've written be printed in a paper, having your friends share your articles on social media, or even just seeing how official your writing looks online. However there's more to writing for a publication than just finding funny gifs for listicles or ranking the best things about your university. Since I began writing for The Odyssey and The Oracle (USF's student-run newspaper), I've learned how to think outside of the box and stay on top of news that I normally wouldn't follow.
One aspect of writing that I love is how well I've learned to communicate with others. Sometimes a story needs student perspectives which calls for interviews and me finding those students to interview. My editor doesn't just say "OK go to this person and ask them these questions", it's up to me to do that which makes everything feel like real journalism. Besides that, I've gotten to meet people from all walks of life: from fraternity boys to fine arts students and even married students that have children.
Besides meeting a myriad of new people, there's lot of freedom in what you get to write about. There are always a whole slew of topic ideas out there –from politics to music to college culture, but people are always open to new suggestions. Your writing is also original, so it's nice to think that you have an outlet where you can tell people what's going on through voicing your opinion.
With all the fun aspects of writing for a publication, my favorite is probably how much more aware of my surroundings I have become. Now, I refer to the news daily to learn what is going on. I stay on top of new music and movies that are coming out, and I'm always checking interesting events happening on or around campus. There is always more going on than most people think and I feel a lot better knowing what's happening in the world we live in. Plus, it's nice to actually know what they're talking about on the nightly news.
While I'm definitely not writing for Buzzfeed or Rolling Stone (yet!) it's nice knowing that I'm taking a step in the right direction. I know I'm not the best writer yet but every week I get the chance to sharpen my skills. With always learning new things and meeting new people, writing for a publication is something that pays off. Furthermore, seeing people share your articles online or even just having them personally tell you they enjoyed it makes it all worthwhile.
