“How about Journalism?” my high school guidance counselor asked me when making a schedule change the week before my junior year.

“No thanks, I’m not that good of a writer,” I replied.

Due to scheduling issues, my junior year of high school I had an extra period off; 9th period. I was fine with having another study hall, I knew I was going to have a tough course load. I was already taking two electives as well, Film Photography and Concert Band.

Then, on the first day of school, the Journalism class, composed of three people and the advisor, came into my 9th-period study hall looking to recruit new students. Being the person I am, I wanted to help out. I was good friends with the few people involved, so some of my friends and I decided to try it out. I would never have thought that the one, simple, quick decision to add an extra elective to my schedule would turn into a whole new world for me.

I never truly liked writing in my English classes because it was mostly based on works of literature. Because most works of literature have meanings that are open to different interpretations, my understanding of the literature wasn't always correct. I would get frustrated because what I was often writing about was not concrete facts on the plot of the story, but rather a symbolism. I preferred writing in my history classes, but because I took Advanced Placement History courses all throughout high school, it was very structured and not always enjoyable.

Before I joined, I had knowledge that the Journalism class wrote The Tide, our high school newspaper. They had an issue out every month or so, and I always tried to pick up a copy to catch up on what had happened in our community and even around the world.

By late spring, I was considering a possible career in communications and was an extremely active staff member in The Tide. Within the last two weeks of classes, I received an assignment to complete a portfolio project for Journalism. It was composed of different responses about what had been learned that year, my overall experience of the year, my favorite article that I had written, and a compilation of all the articles I had written that year.

Now, when I am rereading my Journalism portfolio from the end of junior year, I can see that this is when the possibility of my future in communications became even clearer. I had come to the realization that The Tide was something I’m very involved in and passionate about, and I also believe I excelled in writing factual articles.

The summer before my senior year I researched and visited various colleges in New York State, mainly with communication majors. I realized I had found my true calling and dreams for the future that I still have today. I want to travel across the globe, spread accurate information to the world, and write featured pieces in magazines and newspapers.

Senior year of high school I was Copy Editor of The Tide and had much more great experiences writing and learning how to edit. I always looked forward to going to Journalism class and being on The Tide staff every day. Being a part of a tight-knit family that worked well together to create something not only informative but also creative is one of the reasons I love journalism. I appreciate learning about the facts of something that actually happened and getting to experience those things first hand. I feel as if writing about a particular subject that I have experience in gives me passion and purpose.

Now that I’m in college I’m so thankful for all of the opportunities SUNY Oneonta has given me. One of the main reasons I chose Oneonta was because it was one of the only SUNY’s I looked into with a Mass Communications program, and I couldn’t be happier here. I’m taking classes in my future career field that I love, and I’m learning so much every week that will be very useful when I enter the career field.

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Odyssey today. Even though I’ve only written a handful of articles, I can already tell that this will be a great outlet for my writing. Though I’m not exactly sure what my future has in store for me, I’ve just learned to seize opportunities when they arise, and to go with the flow and accept where life takes me.