By Aisha Espinosa
Staff Writer
@aishaespinosa1

Before school ended, I found the summer program of my dreams by chance. I was looking for opportunities to better my journalism skills, and found one by the Schieffer School of Journalism at Texas Christian University.

Eagerly, I filled out the application, thinking that my chances of getting in were slim. Applicants were from all over the country, and it never occurred to me that I would get an acceptance letter through email a mere four days after I applied.

I clearly remember getting the email, and being so shocked that I could not speak. I even made someone else read the letter, just to make sure I was not seeing things.  For the last few weeks of school, excitement was buzzing through my veins, making it almost impossible to focus.

School ended, and I had less than a week before I would start the Schieffer Summer Journalism Camp. Excitement turned into nerves, and all sorts of questions bounced around in my head. But before I could get too caught up in those, it was June 15 and my parents dropped me off at TCU.

And all those worries I had, they became inconsequential as soon as I walked through the door of the Clark Hall dormitory. Over pizza and Heads Up, we started the beginning of friendships that I hope will last for a long time.

In Kristen, I found someone to talk books with. Hanna, Amanda and I all shared our music tastes, over ice cream in our rooms. My roommate for those two weeks, Avery, and I talked about seemingly everything before we went to bed or while we were getting ready in the morning. One night, I found myself in the basement playing the Game of Life with people I assumed I would not get along with, sharing embarrassing moments and Swedish Fish.

It was nice to find a group of people invested in the same thing but had wildly contrasting personalities. We were all so similar, but so so unique. The mix of personalities resulted in a group that got along so well it was hard to believe we had not known each other for longer. Our down time was spent together, playing board games or watching movies. Trips down to the sand volleyball court became a regular thing, as did watching the FIFA World Cup matches airing at the time. We surprised people for their birthday, and went to go support one of the students at a track meet.

But besides creating friendships, we were learning.  A wide range of people came to the school just for us, like the editor-in-chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and even Deborah Ferguson, an anchor from NBC 5. From those stories about their jobs, to the lesson about Froghenge from the Provost Nowell Donovan, we were able to take bits and pieces for ourselves, to make us better at what we did.

At this program, I was one of the youngest. I had never anchored a newscast, put together a video package or written a script for the voiceovers. I had not taken broad topics and narrowed them down to get a specific story. But by the end of these two weeks, I would do all of those things, and even tweeted at someone to get an interview.

The two weeks I spent at TCU changed me. Before the camp, I was content to sit quietly and let others take the spotlight. I was OK with being in the background, and not speaking up. I was not so sure of myself, or of what I could do.

But now? I find myself speaking up more in my classes, talking to students who I used to be friends with and starting something new. I am more driven, more passionate about my writing and believe in myself.

The society today does not emphasize so much on taking chances, instead of letting things come to you. As guest speaker for the workshop Clarence Hill, Star-Telegram Dallas Cowboys beat writer, said, the “go getters are the ones that move up” in life or in a career. It is time for students to start taking chances, leaps of faith because there is an unfathomable number of  opportunities just lying in wait. Find something that excites you, scares you with an unknown outcome and just do it.

I did. The two weeks I spent at TCU with a group of strangers who turned into fast friends left a lasting impression on my work – and myself – today.