When I was in elementary school, I would peer out of the foggy window from my booster-seat, listening to the quiet, calm, filter of NPR’s “Morning Edition” from the car’s radio. 

Fast-forward to summer break, and I would spend the days of sweltering Indian summer heat splayed on the marble floors with my grandfather, flipping his faded newspapers cover to cover. 

Growing up, I was surrounded by local journalism in ways that never really hit until I was older. I took joy in the crossword puzzles at the end of the newspaper, giggled at radio talk shows such as “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” and “Car Talk.” As I aged, the morning drives with the news and summer newspaper reading never changed, but the news filtered in different. Who was behind what I was reading? What pushed them to do what they did? Who pushed them to do what they did? 

This thought tosses and tumbles in the back of my head to this day, six months into my time as a staff writer on The Sidekick. When I was younger, the people in those articles, the people behind those articles, were nothing more than far away figures that I idolized and pictured as the ideal goal. They were doing things that shaped my family’s outlook on the world. They were spreading knowledge. 

Journalism is one of the most important career fields to exist. It satisfies our never-ending craving for knowledge, our need to know and understand the workings of this world and the people behind it. The fact that I am part of something I grew up relying on so much, the fact that I am becoming my own idol, is mindblowing. 

I will not deny that journalism is a tough field. Personal biases and affiliations can easily filter into your work and paint information a different color, but knowing that I am taking the effort to provide unbiased news through The Sidekick for people like my grandfather and parents inspires me to do my best. I have found my people. I have found where I can finally give back to the “Morning Edition” reporters and to the newspaper columnists. 

I can give back to the wise, erudite man behind my summer escapades and to the effervescent, smiling parents in the front seat, and perhaps even to the little girl in the booster-seat who simply wished to know more. 

Follow Akhila (@akhila_gunturu) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.