To the Journalism Community at Central High: 

As I write this, I spend one of my final moments in the interview room of 029, a classroom that I didn’t think would have much of an impact on me when I first entered high school.  

When I was an incoming freshman, I was awkward and out of place, like a haphazardly broken shard of glass trying to fit itself into a mosaic. I knew what I wanted to do before I first stepped into the building, and journalism was not one of my aspirations.  

Speech and debate was my plan for the next four years, as well as starting a songwriting club. There I would make a lasting impression with my words and find a leadership role to fill out my empty resume. I would focus heavily on STEM classes and win HOSA competitions. My interests lay in healthcare and music, and I never thought I would end up where I did. But freshman year came and went. I did not enjoy speech and debate very much—it was nerve wracking—and I only enjoyed writing my speech, not performing it. There was already a songwriting club at Central, and upon joining, I did not like it as much as I thought I would. And so, lost on what to do, the search began once more. 

I decided to give journalism a chance when Charlie Yale, former co-editor-in-chief, came to give my English class a talk about why we should join The Register. Full of hesitation, I enrolled in Honors Journalism as a sophomore, but I did not know it would change the trajectory of my high school career.  

So many memories were made during the following three years. I went from being a newbie in the class to editor-in-chief my senior year, and I built many lifelong friendships. You meet so many new people when interviewing for articles, going to journalism conventions and distributing the newspaper. Writing is what connected me to the student body. It kept me in the loop on current news, and I got to read up on new places to eat, movies to watch and top athletes at our school.  

Last school year, Boston was the location of the Fall JEA/NSPA National Journalism Convention. I walked around the city, traveled on the subway and ate delicious food. There were also many sessions to listen to speakers talk about how to write and how to improve the quality of our newspaper. I entered a competition and competed with many others in the U.S. on law and ethics of press. And I did all this with other Register staff over the course of three days. Moments like those reminded me why I loved the community so much. 

The Register at Central provides you with a plethora of privileges. Journalism builds connections, spreads awareness and encourages leadership. It shaped me through challenges and rocky roads, and I went from being a misfit shard to having my own place in the big picture. So, I urge you to take that first step and take a chance on our community.