by Noah Bair

Entering high school, I had planned out exactly which classes I would take and which years I would take them. After two years of taking classes that I essentially chose as a 13 year old, I decided I wanted a change. Instead of taking AP Spanish, a class that I would have dreaded every day, I switched to newspaper. Unbeknownst to me, it was one of the best decisions I have made during my time at Sherwood.

Writing, and really the whole English subject as a whole, was never something I enjoyed. I did know, however, that I had a passion for sports journalism. I came into newspaper junior year expecting to write exclusively sports articles about whatever was going on in the sports world. After only my second week on the staff, I wrote an article for the sports section about veteran quarterbacks in the NFL. I thought this would be a preview of my position for my time on the staff: someone who writes timely sports articles every once in a while. That year, however, I ended up writing articles for each section of the newspaper including an opinion piece and a movie review.

When the seniors left in the spring, I was named as the print sports editor for the next school year. This position allowed me to work closer with the other editors as well as the advisor. I will never forget the relationships I formed in the newspaper room and the lessons that I will carry onto college, even if I’m not going into the field of journalism.

Taking one risk of switching from AP Spanish to newspaper provided me with the chance to do something with my passion for sports while also presenting opportunities to discover other areas that I didn’t even know interested me. Seeing how much that risk paid off, I figured the next step would be to go even more outside of my comfort zone. Instead of staying in-state, I am attending a school 300 miles away. Even though it will be just as unfamiliar to me as newspaper was when I first stepped into the class, I am confident that taking such risks will continue to pay off.