By Stephanie Alexander
Entertainment Editor

BOSTON- It is 11:26 p.m. as I type this in the hallway of my hotel room, a midnight deadline hanging above me. I have to be all ready to board a flight back to DFW at 5 a.m. the next morning. It still hasn’t even hit me yet that I am in Boston doing what I love with people that I cherish.

With Fenway Park as our front yard and a gorgeous daily walk past the Back Bay Fens as we go to our convention, I felt so Americana, so cultured and blessed.

Being in a new place and just exploring and taking everything in is such a refreshing thing. The autumn leaves, the city in general, I was definitely feeling it.

I went to the previous JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco this past April, which was an amazing learning experience and such a fun trip. But this trip to Boston was more than just learning about journalism techniques and how to make my publication the best it can be.

One of the keynote speakers at the convention, executive producer of FRONTLINE Raney Aronson-Rath, asked the 5,000 plus audience a question that made me stop in my tracks for some reason, “Why do you want to be a journalist? Why do you love journalism?”

I never really thought about why I loved it or wanted to do it. I literally remember one day just deciding that that was what I wanted to do. I asked some people why they loved journalism and they all had really personal, sentimental answers.

As I took in some more Boston culture that night and went to a Celtics basketball game with a few of my closest friends, I realized I wanted to be nowhere but where I was in that moment. I am a total lover of pop culture and traveling so there was no worry about the last minute nosebleed seats, I was at a Celtics game in the TD Garden and that was just so amazing to me.

I realized as we got lost on the way walking back from the game, that is what I wanted to do. Experience priceless moments and learning every step of the way. Journalism pushes me to experience so many different types of events and takes me out of my comfort zone. I love the feeling after every interview I do. I feel so in control, like I am getting something out of you, I am making you feel a certain way with my questions.

All my friends back home texting and snap chatting me a variation of the obligated, “I miss you so much” and “When are you coming back?”. I wasn’t excited to be going home or even worried about the AP Physics test I had to take when I would come home.

I was worried about when I would have this experience again. I mean unless someone plans one heck of a reunion party, when will I be walking with these people on a chilly November Boston night? When will I walk past Fenway Park six times a day again, linking arms and laughing with my three best friends?

It was a long weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life.