As I sit at the computer patiently waiting for my name to be called and the prompt to be given to me, I think, wow, this is tough competition.

This is my second year to compete in UIL journalism events but every time feels like the first. I get nervous, my hands start to sweat, and I always wonder what if the judges think it is absolutely horrible!

Nov. 14 was our first meet for this year. It was only practice but it still mattered a lot to me. Even though we were given hard prompts and we were up against good schools in our division, such as Carthage, Canton, and Martin’s Mill, I still had a fun time and experience.

Like any other journalist who is judged, I felt the pressure to do my best and felt like if I made a mistake and didn’t place in the top six with my stories, I would have let myself and my fellow journalists down. But then again, the way we get better in anything we do is to practice and learn from our mistakes.

To most people, a misspelling or grammar mistake in an article or headline is funny but to those of us who write those and are judged by our work, it’s a big deal. There is a lot more to a newspaper then just writing. You have to interview people and you almost always have to work around their schedule.

Being a journalist also gives you the opportunity to learn things about yourself. I never knew I could talk to my friends on a professional level instead of a goofy one. I also overcame my fear of being shy and I get to meet new, interesting and exciting people all the time.

Even though this “hobby” of mine is sometimes stressful, I wouldn’t change anything about it. You learn things about people you never knew. Plus, I get to spend a lot of time with my friends who enjoy this as much as I do.