In my head, journalism looked like someone typing away by themselves on an old sand green typewriter with a stack of newspapers beside them. To many, this may seem bleak, but to me it was appealing

However, my time so far in The Sidekick has helped me realize that journalism is much more than that image, and it has helped me gain skills by pushing my boundaries.

I have always been timid, preferring to work on my own and stay isolated. If I was in a class, scarcely anyone noticed I was there. As a kid, I often busied myself reading, drawing or writing in my room, letting my imagination spill out onto pages. 

As I slowly managed to adapt and tackle the rising workloads and pressure in high school, I found that I had carved out a large amount of free time.

As a freshman, I felt a little lost. I had no other extracurricular activities, and I hadn’t really felt like I had done anything as half the year flashed by before my eyes. Still, I felt hesitant to branch out and try something new, afraid I would fail.

I began reflecting on things that I used to enjoy, parts of life that helped me mentally grow, which simultaneously gave me enjoyment. I remembered how I used to like to craft stories and simply doodle as a kid, without worrying about anything else.

As course registration deadlines loomed nearer, I found The Sidekick, labeled under the name Graphic Design/Illustration I-NP, and I decided to add it to my course requests.

Throughout August and September, I would come to learn that The Sidekick requires a lot more than just someone typing on a computer. In the following weeks, I interviewed people from all over Coppell, including students, teachers and high-level district administrators. 

Although I approached these assignments nervously at first, I was able to grow and develop my speaking skills. 

In fact, being ‘thrown into’ assignments showed me that stressing over little details or being nervous about experiences wasted time. It instead made me able to adapt to these new scenarios, making the best of my opportunities and learning how to communicate with people all over my community.

Through journalism, I found myself more willing and open to seek new opportunities and try new things, not only helping me grow my journalistic skills like writing or photography, but also helping me develop as a person. I learned to manage my time better, cut procrastination and become more connected with the people around me, something which I had struggled with before.

Developing as a journalist throughout the year has helped me hone these new skills. I learned to grow not only journalistically, but also mentally, by breaking my previously self-imposed mental barriers and limits through new, diverse experiences in The Sidekick.

Follow Yug (@YugTalukdar) and @CHSCampusNews on X.