To be completely honest, I had zero interest in journalism prior to joining Spyglass. Well, in actuality, I had no idea what being a journalist entailed. I never thought I would relive the feeling of entering a new class and environment as a senior. I never thought I would be starting something new in my senior year.

Before I left speech and debate, people told me that dropping out of an elective more than mid-way through high school would look horrible on my college activities list, but I just wasn’t passionate about it anymore. I knew there were a couple things I wanted to do during my last year of Westridge: utilize the ceramics studio, continue theatre/sports, and try something new. While I have yet to step foot into the ceramics studio this year, I was part of both mainstage theatre productions and reclaimed my role as basketball team captain. After hearing about an opportunity to contribute to Spyglass Live, I decided to consider joining Spyglass. 

The first class was interesting. I was new to the class, and it was an anomaly for a senior to join Spyglass. Many of the seniors held a leadership role and a firm understanding of how Spyglass worked while I had no idea how to write an article or interview people—basically, how to be a journalist. It was an isolating experience to not have many friends in the class, and learning the basics with new freshmen whom I also didn’t know. I still remember when advisor Mrs. Masami Hansen clarified the time commitment and the expectations joining Spyglass entailed. This gave me pause, as I thought it would be a lot for me to handle school work, college applications, learning how to be a journalist, and fulfilling the two articles per semester requirement. 

I thought, why not? Something I will never do is give up before trying. I didn’t want to shy away from this challenging experience just because I was scared of judgement from others and, honestly, myself. I was confident that by the end of the year, I would grow to be more comfortable being by myself in an environment where I didn’t know anyone. I knew I would regret giving up too quickly in the long run, so I figured I would tough it out, stay in the class, and write one article to give journalism a try. 

My first article was introducing Westridge’s new director of advancement, Ms. Sian Leong Adams. Even though my first draft was mostly cut, I had so much fun interviewing Ms. Adams, and grew to love the process of writing the first draft to putting my article in copy. For the first time, I felt like I belonged in Spyglass. 

Soon after, I helped produce the first Spyglass Live publication of the year about the 2024 presidential election. After I found my footing, I wanted to try everything—I wanted to write as many articles as possible, produce as much Spyglass Live as I could, and write about what I was passionate about. 

I took every opportunity to learn and expand my journalism skills. I tried live reporting on Westridge’s election panel and learned how to write when I wasn’t given consent to record to stay within the ethical journalism guidelines. I led a filming of a heartwarming Spyglass Live during Grandparent’s Day and learned how to bring my own ideas to life. At this point, I felt pretty confident being part of Spyglass. Aside from journalism skills, I learned to be okay with feeling disconnected and inexperienced. So long as I continued coming to class, participating, and writing and producing what I’m passionate about, it didn’t matter that I didn’t have anyone I could sit next to in class. 

Even though school was picking up and college applications deadlines were getting closer, I made sure to make myself available to contribute to Spyglass. I had so much fun getting to edit Spyglass Live’s coverage of Yam Fest; it was meaningful for me to be able to have a say in that project, even when my schedule didn’t allow for my full participation. My next story was a highlight profile on Westridge’s Assistant Director of College Counseling, Dr. Jann Lacoss’ pocket-pals and her act of kindness to the seniors. At this point, journalism became a new passion of mine. I thoroughly enjoyed making a connection with the people I interviewed and being able to tell a story through my voice, my writing. 

I then tried my first opinion piece with my JV basketball article. It was a fun piece about why I love basketball and why I decided not to join varsity during my senior year. I found I was able to reflect deeply on why I love the sport and why I chose to miss out on a senior sports photo or a more challenging environment. This was the first article I received feedback from readers on. It felt so good to hear people tell me that they connected with the story in a meaningful way. 

Truthfully, I have held onto this “Joining Spyglass as a Senior” idea for about six months now. I always knew that this would be the last article I write for Spyglass. I think starting something new during senior year has its pros and cons. I have no regrets in joining Spyglass. I was able to gain a new passion and develop my writing and conversational skills. I was able to write about the stories that interested me and the stories I wanted to read as a reader. 

Yes, it may be embarrassing to be the only senior starting from the basics, but that’s how each and everyone on Spyglass started. My only wish is that I had joined Spyglass earlier. Who knows what crazy articles I could have cooked up? Even though my time at Spyglass was brief, I was able to learn and grow so much as a person. I look forward to joining the student newspaper at my future college and experiencing as much growth as I was able to during my time at Spyglass. 

Signing out, 

Joss