PERSONAL NARRATIVE

During my ninth grade year, Roe v Wade had just been overturned. I was both shocked and appalled at the utter disregard for the women of this country. My aunt, after realizing that something she fought for over the course of 3 decades was taken away, she was overcome with a fit of outrage and anguish. I knew then that this decision affects me no matter where I live. I had been protesting alongside my aunt on various issues, but now it felt even more personal and immediate.  This has truly sparked my dedication to spreading awareness and resources on various women’s rights issues as a young woman in 2024. I saw what was happening and I felt an enormous sense of responsibility to step up and use my voice as a means to assist our progress.
 
I had been to many protests opposing this decision organized by my activism groups at this time. I had been watching on the news as places around the country had been engulfed in protest, hundreds of people with different backgrounds, lives, and experiences standing together in solidarity. I thought that this would be an amazing chance for girls in my school to express themselves on these events as well. I ended up organizing my first protest during my first year of high school.
The protest ended up being a success with both girls and boys lining up in front of my school to hold signs and chant for a woman’s reproductive rights to be restored all over the nation. Many of the participants were in tears thanking me for organizing the event, and we even ended up on the news! One student, a junior girl, came up to me and gave me a hug. "Thank you for having this courage," she told me. Holding that much needed space for others held a profound resonance that I had the privilege of experiencing. As someone who has diverted a lot of my energy into community activism, I can attest to the impact of grassroots movements. 

My activism is what fueled my initial motivation to join my school's student newspaper. I needed a way to get what I think is very important for people to be educated on out there in the midst of my fellow students. While organizing protests gave me a platform to express my views, I realized that writing could allow me to reach even more people, which led me to join the school newspaper.

​I began developing a love for journalism through a news writing class I began taking at the start of my junior year. The class itself I discovered very late during high school but it has since allowed me to shape my writing skills while also serving as a powerful tool for exposing issues in my community and in the world. I found that journalism and activism, when aligned, can have a profound and positive impact on society. The collaboration between journalism and activism fosters the empowering of individuals, the mobilization of movements, and the push for reform.  I have seen these effects often, which I can proudly say I have been a part of, whether it be within a school, or on a larger scale.
 
Some of the articles I have written following themes of activism include A Girl’s High School Experience, Exposing Fight Culture at McKinley, and Reproductive Rights Affected by Overturn of Roe v. Wade. Quotes from my article about abortion rights were shared during a rally by my aunt, which was met by an eruption of whistles and cheers from the crowd. Even with journalistic writing skills that are still blossoming, I managed to leave people with something memorable. These writing pieces exhibit my passion, as well as my growth in writing throughout my very limited time as a journalist. Each of these articles evoked a dialogue at the very least among the students at McKinley about the problems talked about within them.
 
Initially, I had a hard time attempting to turn subjects that I felt very strongly about into objective pieces of writing.  I appreciate the challenge of coming up with a story that is not only consistent with the facts and truth but also resonates with my own experiences and beliefs. Through these articles, I have worked to provide context, and a sense of urgency and truth on these critical problems to the public eye. 

I started high school as an activist, but I will be leaving a journalist. I know that I still have a long way to trek in my journalistic endeavors, but through hard work and an intense love for writing, I will continue to flourish in my progress. It is of great importance to me that I will always fight for what I know is right. This desire has continued to manifest itself in a multitude of productive ways. That is what I feel is the duty of young people, to expose and challenge the corruption and complicity our society tends to normalize. I found a new way of being when I ventured deeper into these topics. I am an instrument of change. I know that someday my voice, in conjunction with many other unique voices and perspectives, will make a difference.