I always saw teenagers my age going out of town on trips or going to camps and wondered why I wasn’t able to experience the same.

I entered my Sidekick class one day expecting the usual announcements, but The Sidekick adviser Chase Wofford mentioned something that I never expected: a weekend trip to Austin to attend a journalism convention, the Interscholastic League Press Conference.

I took this as my only opportunity to leave town alone, so as soon as I got home, I ran excitedly to my mom to ask her if I could go. Her answer was expected but it still left me disappointed.

Bills were already high, so I knew it was for my family’s good that I stayed home, but still ended up going to my room feeling defeated with my head down.

Later that night, as my dad was traveling, I decided since one parent said no, it wouldn’t hurt to ask the other.

I messaged him that if I went, I could learn a lot and use this knowledge in my academic and professional future.

My dad typed a response back within seconds. 

My eyes widened at his response, and I jumped for joy. I ran to tell my mom that my dad said yes and what came out of her mouth made me even more ecstatic. ”You promise to be careful?” 

My smile grew and I promised to be safe and stay with the group at all times. I was finally going to ILPC.

The day arrives and I tell all my friends that I get to go to Austin. Well, what I really said was, “I’m going somewhere for the first time alone!” It brought me joy just knowing I was really going on my first solo trip. 

We loaded the bus and the bus ride to the hotel was a blast. We stopped at Buc-ee’s at the midway point, and sang karaoke on the bus, something I would’ve never been able to do in the car with my parents. “Tanvi, turn off the music,” or “It’s too loud.” 

We get to the hotel and the rest of the day goes well. 

The next day, it’s the convention.

I attended breakout sessions and gained lots of new knowledge.

I make new friends, talk to people on staff I don’t get to everyday and became friends with people from KCBY-TV and continued to learn more about the journalism world.

I enjoyed each and every session. The speakers were super fun and it was easy to get information through the presentations. It made me happy that I really learned something new.

I took detailed notes for each session and came home with the knowledge from the trip while also enjoying time with my friends.

My first solo trip was a success.

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