My memories of the very first days of newspaper were not the most pleasant. Taking in what at first seemed like a steep workload for one class combined with the realization that it would not be the easy A class that I thought it would be, I was quite skeptical about staying. My best friend Sof convinced me to not switch out with the argument, “We would have three classes in a row together if you stay!” I am incredibly grateful that she persuaded me to stay in the class. 

Though I originally took newspaper as a filler class my senior year, I ended up discovering a passion for sharing my thoughts and opinions through writing that I did not know I had before. In addition to allowing me to express my interests through writing about the topics of my choosing every other week, The Tower has also allowed me to connect with people who have similar interests through reading their articles. I found it very comforting to read my friends’ articles about recent albums knowing that we shared an interest in the same genres of music. 

Ms. Taylor’s encouragement to always write about what was interesting to me and support of each article I wrote pushed me to work harder on my pieces to produce entertaining media. Although I mainly stuck to writing album reviews, Ms. Taylor as well as Addie, my editor, were always supportive of my work. Throughout my year involved in the newspaper, I never felt discouraged from pursuing any topic, allowing me to feel free to write about my passions and interests all year. 

I plan to attend Indiana University Bloomington in the fall, and I am not currently set on a specific major and have very few possible ideas, but I plan to keep journalism and similar media in mind while I am in college. If not majoring in journalism or something similar, I hope to at least utilize the writing methods I have learned in newspaper in my English classes at IU. I will truly miss the opportunities that The Tower provided me during my senior year, and have no doubt that next year’s staff will only improve the standard quality of work we set this year.