As a child, I idolized high schoolers. In movies, they were always the main characters and had lives filled with opportunity, freedom and emotion, and in real life, they were simply just cool. So, before I stepped foot in WJ four years ago, I internalized this ingenuine reality and hoped that my high school experience would mirror my limited impression of such.
Well, the pandemic certainly shattered my already unrealistic expectations for high school, but where I was disappointed in one regard, I was compensated in another–an unexpected and newfound interest: Journalism. I was accidentally placed in Journalism 1 my sophomore year resulting from mistakes in my class schedule. I did not choose it, nor was I particularly thrilled about this change but I knew my cousin had written for The Pitch and loved it, so I kept an open mind.
As I dove headfirst into first journalism and then the Pitch, I acquired valuable skills that far exceed my writing abilities. The Pitch, more than anything, has taught me about being a part of a unique, diverse community. The Pitch has enabled me, and at times forced me to interact and befriend people with whom I would never previously cross paths. I was able to learn more about my peers and expand my social circles through an extracurricular activity in which I never imagined myself. In other words, The Pitch perpetuated everything I had once hoped for my high school experience in wildly unconventional ways.
I never considered the impact The Pitch would have on me as an incoming freshman, but engaging in this meaningful community has changed my high school experience permanently and for the better. I cannot thank Ms. Borrelli enough for cultivating an environment that supported me as I explored the opportunities on The Pitch and grew into leadership positions, and of course I could not have made it through without my partner in crime, Raquel Daley.
Most importantly, in college and in life ahead, I will approach new experiences with an open mind, regardless of my instinctual interest, because in the case of the Pitch, I gained so much.
