When I was younger, I wanted to be a doctor or an engineer- something fancy like that. Until a few years ago, writing wasn’t something I thought about as much as I do now. It was never part of my future plan- it just happened.

I still remember confidently walking up to Ms. Lauer after interviewing some students for a story I was writing. I had quotes like “Yes” and “Maybe.” She smiled at me and told me that I had to redo the interview because those aren’t usable quotes. She said if I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of an interview I had to keep asking questions until I did. This advice is always in the back of my mind every time I conduct an interview.

During the two years I attended Niles West, I have met teachers who along the way helped me develop my writing skills. And for the year and a half I have been writing for the Niles West News site, I have rapidly fallen in love with writing. I did everything from news stories, to sports coverage, to features and columns. I’ve experienced the thrills of breaking news and even writing about controversial topics.

Ms. Lauer’s journalism class changed my life. It changed my perspective on what kind of person I want to be after high school and helped me realize that I don’t need to wear a fancy white coat to assert the fact that I have a “good” job- I can do whatever I want to do. Although I’m still not quite sure what I’m going to study in college, I plan on writing for my school’s paper.

Writing this column is one of the hardest assignments I’ve done. I’m going to miss being a high school student: parking badly every morning before going to FPC, struggling in Physics class and even awkwardly waving hi to people as I stroll down the halls. But most of all, I’m going to miss logging into my NWN account to write a story. It has been one heck of a ride and a great experience but I think I’m ready for the next chapter to unravel.