I can recall nearly three years ago in ninth grade when I was merely writing a newspaper story for an English assignment, and little did I know it would be the beginning of one of the biggest changes of my life.

My English teacher, who was also the newspaper advisor, suggested I should take the journalism class my sophomore year because of the way I had written that assignment. Hesitantly, I agreed to try my hands at a new subject, one I never thought about taking before. After learning all the basics of how to write news, feature and editorial stories, I developed a new passion for writing.

There’s something sensational to me about the way people can be informed on important subjects and realize what they’re missing around them by just reading a short story that took lots of effort to write. I love being on the other side of the reader’s point of view. Being on the newspaper staff has been one of the greatest experiences of my entire life. I even went to a UIL competition for news writing and won 1st place. That was by far the biggest accomplishment I ever made. I have the story I wrote hanging on the front of my refrigerator and every time I glance at it I get an indescribable feeling. Knowing my writing interested the judges so much that they chose mine as the winner is the greatest thing I’ll ever know.

Now I’m a senior and this is my second year on the newspaper staff and I’m not quite sure how to cope without sitting in front of a computer and typing about teachers, students and local news everyday. This year won’t be the last that I’ll write about these and other subjects. One thing I know is that my future ahead involves carrying on this passion for writing, which began as just a simple English assignment.