August 8, 2018 I walked into Journalism for the first time as a freshman. I didn’t know any students in the class, including the teacher, Mrs.Francis. I was very nervous, continuously wondering what the class would be like. As I continued going to class I soon realized I would like it a lot. Throughout my four years in Journalism, I’ve met a lot of people, learned lots of things, gained lots of writing skills, and got to know one of the best teachers.

2018-2019, my freshman year. I didn’t really have any major writing experience, just what I liked to do in my free time. I didn’t know anyone in the class because this was my first year at BCHS. Mrs. Francis quickly made sure everyone was comfortable, making little writing assignments for the class. At the time I definitely didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to talk to people who I didn’t know. In a few weeks I would be glad she made those assignments. My first friend I made in Journalism, Brooke, really helped me a lot. We did interviews together, she helped me write my first article, asked questions for me when I was too nervous to, and many more things. Throughout the year I started talking to everyone, even the seniors. Everyone was so fun and each person had such a unique personality. Some of my favorite memories are when we had our first party for uploading the first article of the year and the Christmas party, when we were each other’s secret santas. The year went by fast and I knew I wanted to take Journalism again next year.

2019-2020, my sophomore year. This year started off great, but towards the end of the school year there were major changes. COVID-19 happened, and we did NTI work. I had never taken Journalism outside of the classroom, without a teacher so it was weird and took a lot of getting used to. Before we went online I made lots of new friends and got to know Mrs.Francis better, as I had her in English as well. The year went by fast and I gained a lot of experience interviewing people. After we went online it was a little hard to do those kinds of things. It was harder to interview people and to find things I wanted to write about. I didn’t have much inspiration, but I could always count on Mrs.Francis or anyone in the class to help me out. Still, I knew I wanted to continue taking Journalism.

2020-2021, my junior year. This year was the craziest. We were online the whole year. It took a lot of getting used to again since we did Zoom now. I didn’t meet anyone new in the class that year, and it was a little difficult to keep motivation for school. Still, Mrs.Francis brought a smile to class everyday and always asked how we were doing. While it was hard, my junior year was the year when I found out what I really liked writing about- music. I started to write about new albums. I would write reviews, talk about the songs, sales it made, etc. I enjoyed writing about it so much. My junior year went by really fast, and I was excited to find out how Journalism would be my senior year.

2021-2022, my senior year. My last year in Journalism with Mrs.Francis. It’s still weird to think about. This school year has been the best. I met so many new people in Journalism this year, and got to enjoy the school year. It was as normal as it could get. We had a lot of fun memories- we had parties, hung out outside, and many more. I still write about music, ranging from each genre. I’ve enjoyed Journalism this year, and I’m sad to go. I loved all the memories I made in Journalism each year with one of my favorite teachers, Mrs.Francis. I got through my first year of Journalism with Brooke and I will be ending my last year with my best friend James, as well as Mrs.Francis.