After being assigned my first Sidekick story in September 2017, I basically forgot about it – until former Sidekick entertainment editor Kelly Wei, who is now serving as editor-in-chief, confronted me for missing my deadline a week later.

Somehow, I was genuinely confused about why she cared I was a few days late on the story.

I decided to join The Sidekick on a whim, without really knowing what it was. For the first couple months, the program’s fluid freedom frustrated me – I’d never been in a class where the teacher wasn’t constantly telling me what, when and how to do everything. As the first quarter was wrapping up, I told my friend I would definitely be quitting next year.

But after posting my third story (which I actually met my deadline on), a feature on Coppell High School students who had started their own tutoring business called EZ Tutor, something changed. It was the first time my sources were outwardly excited about being in the newspaper, excited that I was writing about them. That excitement carried over to me, making me smile as I clicked the “publish” button on CoppellStudentMedia.com.

The next day, I decided I would not be quitting The Sidekick next year, and, in fact, formed specific goals I wanted to reach within the program. Afterward, I found myself striving to write every story I could, to cover any event mildly interesting to me. While I used to dread transcribing interviews, establishing concrete goals and making a conscious decision to pour my heart into The Sidekick made it tolerable, because every interview I transcribe is helping me reach my ambitions.

The Sidekick, to me, is proof that perseverance will often lead to success. But even more importantly, it is proof that if we choose to work hard for something, we are likely to fall in love with it, more deeply than we ever anticipated.

Follow Pramika on Twitter @pramika_kadari