I go through phases – or maybe obsessions would be a more accurate term for my short-term interests.

Currently it is a search for the perfect pair of cowgirl boots, but they’ve ranged into professional ice skating, Fleetwood Mac and crafting the perfect skincare routine. The thing about these phases – they’re just that. They never last a particularly long time.

When I started at The Sidekick, though, it was never in my mind that this program could be a phase like every other activity I had tried before. From the second I joined the program, something about it felt mine, personal and true. Maybe it was the people who guided me when I first started, all of them simultaneously talented, intimidating and encouraging. Or maybe it was the work I got to do, telling the stories I had always loved to hear. I immediately knew that I wanted to be a leader of this program and now that I am, I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I no longer want to wake up at 2 a.m. to watch the Cup of China Grand Prix or spend hours on Sephora scrolling through pages of products I will never actually buy. I have a half-written screenplay of Fleetwood Mac’s compiled (and dramaticized) history stuck far in the depths of my Google Drive that I don’t think I’ll ever finish. But I can’t say I see myself falling out of love with The Sidekick. 

It never gets less gratifying to conduct an excellent interview or take the perfect picture. It never gets any less satisfying to hit the ‘Publish’ button on Coppell Student Media whether it’s your first or 100th story.

It’s my third year and I’m still here, happily, spending hours covering events, testing out confusing Adobe programs and learning new ways to tell stories. And there is still much more I want to try out, both in being a leader and in my final year as a journalist on The Sidekick. 

There are a lot of things I’m worried about for this year on staff – teaching has never been a strong suit of mine and Sally Parampottil, our last editor-in-chief, left big shoes to fill. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of room for improvement. Yet, to be honest, I can’t say I’m afraid of any of it. 

I don’t know what it is about The Sidekick that has let it stick in my ever changing mind and I don’t know what the rest of this year has in store. All I can say is this: for anything, I’ll be here.

Follow Anjali (@anjalikrishna_) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.