By Sakshi Venkatraman

Staff Writer

@oompapa1

I can hardly recognize the person that I was on Aug. 25, 2014 – the quiet, shy girl who walked into The Sidekick newsroom with nothing but a backpack full of opinions, a passion for writing and a hope that things would work out.

The person that sprung forth between then and now is someone that has exceeded all my expectations.

My life has taken many turns during this school year, and the person I have become is someone I can feel proud of and confident in being.

Overall, this year has been absolutely exhausting. However, it is the best, most fruitful kind of exhaustion that I could ever have experienced.

A lot of that came from being on The Sidekick for the first time. The struggle to consistently meet deadlines, send in graphic requests and write good stories has been tougher than I expected it to be, but out of those late nights and early mornings, what I received was priceless.

I got a career.

In the first weeks after I started working, I fell more in love with my craft and realized that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

The Sidekick has given me a home; it has given me something I can put my name on and say, “This is mine. I made this.” But, more than that, it has been something I have really learned from. I have learned how to talk to people and how to listen to people, which has given me an advantage in and out of the newsroom. This year has forced me to step out of my comfort zone and be vulnerable, but strong, in my writing.

Another thing that changed for me this year was my outlook. By mid-year, I felt like I was falling apart and that my life and my grades were going to shambles. I didn’t believe that positivity could really change anyone, but I was somewhat out of options in every other respect.

I remember one day in January, I was so loaded with homework, projects and tests, that even complaining exhausted me. So I made the decision to be more positive. At the time, I didn’t even know what that would look like and my friends all thought I was insane just for trying.

But I can say for sure that it has made all the difference so far. Greeting situations with the attitude of “I can and will handle it” helped take the sting off the remainder of the year.

However, the best thing I did for myself this year was choosing my friends and choosing my battles. Ninth grade was not a good year for me in that department. I was surrounded by a lot of negativity and it was weighing me down. What I have learned is that everyone has to deal with some negativity in their lives that is out of their control, whether it stems from schoolwork, family, self-image or all of the above.

The thing is, the way we live life is still in our control and, often, forgetting that simple fact allows the world to walk all over us. Cutting negativity from my life has given me much more room to breathe. Not being afraid to check my phone or my iPad every night in fear of drama is liberating and it makes me feel like my happiness is finally in my hands.

The people I have surrounded myself with this year are people who make me smile and laugh consistently. Although we all have hard times, we get through them in a way that puts no one down. It has, without a doubt, changed me for the better.

Leaving for summer vacation this year will be immensely difficult. I will be leaving behind friends that I will not see next year or the year after. This year has been one of the best of my life and I cannot wait to see where next year takes me.