On the first day of school, I stepped into The Pinion newsroom with a story based on the events of the previous day, which was the freshman orientation. That story was passable but I knew that it could have been better.

Since that time, I have been taught the difference between writing a news story and another type of story. My story on the freshman orientation was one of those other types of stories. I remember how embarrassed I was that that story was published after learning that there was a certain style to writing news stories. However, I was still proud of it because it told the truth.

In this class, I learned that with any type of story, a news story, an editorial, a feature or a sports story; it was important to always tell the truth.

This class did not only teach me how to write; it taught me how to use SNO, how to take “good” pictures, how to write appropriate captions for  things and how to make a video (since I never did that before). I also learned about the importance of social media and the role it plays in a lot of things. I learned about court cases and about my rights as a student newspaper staffer. I learned about what I enjoy doing, which is writing and editing work (which works out well with what I mostly do in this class). I also learned about what I absolutely hate doing, like talking to other people (especially to those who I do not know), but I also learned to be more comfortable when talking to them. I also developed “thick skin” which helps me when I interview people or when I overhear people say negative things about what I wrote or when I see stacks of Pinions underneath chairs of classrooms.

The Pinion has taught me a lot of things about news writing and about myself. I learned that despite the little attention we get from the school, we still need to spread the news. I know how to deliver information and I want The Pinion to be better known throughout the school next year.