Editor’s Letter A New Beginning

On the first day of school, I walked into the journalism class to find a room full of unknown faces. At first, it was shocking, for the scene was totally unfamiliar. But at the same time, it was exciting. I would have the opportunity to start anew in journalism, and with that opportunity, I got the honor of being the chief editor of Leaman’s press. Through these past weeks, I got the chance to know the new journalists of Leaman as I experienced the process of journalism with them. In the period of making Leaman’s first newspaper of the year, the journalism team and I faced many challenges, discoveries, and achievements.

It’s easy to say that guiding twenty-four students through journalism was not an easy task. We had big goals, and a limited time to achieve them. The biggest challenge we faced was using a new platform for design. Unlike the platform journalism had used in the previous year, this website was a completely blank slate, which proved to be quite tricky. There was also the problem of writing. For some, writing came easy. But for others, starting an article was hard. It was understandable, as I remember writing my first article in journalism last year. When you start writing in journalism, you get the need to make an outstanding article, something out of this world because there’s a good chance your friends will see it. This can be very pressuring, leading journalists into a bout of writer’s block. In the end, the journalists of Leaman faced these conflicts and conquered them, leading to our product; Leaman’s first newspaper of the year.

But while we faced challenges, we also faced achievements. Every journalist had at least one article featured in one newspaper. This was an impressive feat, speaking that there are more than twenty students in journalism. It’s also the first time this has occurred, as last year, a few students had to be left out of each newspaper. Another achievement journalism made these past weeks is working well on collaborations. Usually, when working on a collaborative piece in journalism, journalists often create disagreements on ideas and opinions. But these journalists have been able to peacefully work together, talking out their conflicts and aspiring to make a great piece of writing together. We also had some journalists who greatly contributed to our knowledge of technology. At some point in life, everyone has felt frustration and cluelessness when it came to figuring out something on the internet.

Thanks to our journalists, journalism was able to avoid that frustration and successfully make our newspaper. Overall, these journalists at Leaman held so much more potential than I had ever expected. They proved to be practical, productive, and determined writers. I look forward to a full year of working with these journalists, as they hold many opportunities, and I’m filled with anticipation for what comes for Leaman’s press.