Ever since we were little kids, we have been constantly been asked what we want to do when we grow up. We always gave the typical and common juvenile answers of being a doctor, a veterinarian, or a pop star.

Ever since I was a little girl, I was confident that I was going to achieve my dream career of becoming a breakthrough star; my name would be known wherever I went, millions of people would ask me for my autograph, and my face would be on a poster in Times Square for the next Broadway hit. That all changed this year when I was accidentally put into a class that I never signed up for.

This is the story of how I became a journalist.

When the annual course selection process began in February of my freshman year, I signed up for Music Theory because music is my passion and I was so excited to finally be able to take this course.

I received my finalized schedule for sophomore year in late August. I wasn’t pleased when I didn’t see Music Theory on my schedule; instead Journalism was in its place.

I marched right down to the guidance office a week before school started and tried to get my schedule adjusted, but nothing worked. My schedule could not be switched around to take me out of Journalism and into Music Theory.

But like a wise woman once told me, “Everything happens for a reason.”

I sat in fourth period Journalism on the first day of school repeating to myself, “I don’t want to be here.” As the first weeks of school passed and the summer air dissipated, I began to like the course. Maybe it was Ms. Phillips’s always optimistic and positive energy that made the class all the more fun, but I actually loved writing. It wasn’t the type of forced writing that you do for your English and history essays. It was the type of writing that I could express anything I wanted, talk about any issues that I wanted, and most of all, it was the type of writing that I enjoyed.

I began writing articles and taking pictures at sporting events and school fundraisers that were eventually published on MSG Varsity. I loved everything about the journalism world. I couldn’t stop writing and I always was there to cover sporting events, student accomplishments, and upcoming events. Publishing article after article was an exhilarating feeling that I couldn’t get enough of.

About two months ago, Ms. Phillips received an application for the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists at Stony Brook University, a week long intensive program for aspiring journalists.  I was so honored that I was the first person she thought of to apply to this program. This was an opportunity that I could not pass up.

I waited close to a month to hear back from the camp coordinators. Out of 100 high schoolers on Long Island who applied to the program, 18 students were accepted into the program, and I was the only junior in attendance.

For a week this summer, I’ll be packing my bags for the not so long drive to Stony Brook University to collaborate with 17 other young journalists from all around Long Island. Together we will be working with professors from SBU as well as newscasters and journalists from CBS Studios and Newsday.

Next year, I’ll be stepping up as editor of The Hurricane Eye and I will be continuing onto Broadcast Journalism next year in my junior year, something that I have been wanting to do since I saw my first Hurricane Watch episode in eighth grade.

I wouldn’t be the aspiring journalist that I am today if it wasn’t for Ms. Phillips. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her or having her as your teacher, she is the most upbeat, fun-loving, and inspiring teacher you will meet. I have nothing but good things to say about her. She has helped me find my career path and always knows how to put a smile on my face. Ms. Phillips is truly the best teacher I have ever had!

I was meant to become a journalist. That hopeful Broadway star soul is still inside of me and I cannot wait to continue my passion for theater and dance recreationally throughout high school and college. In 10 years, I see myself sitting behind an anchoring desk at a news station or sitting in my own office as the editor of a magazine. Journalism is what I love and I cannot wait to keep on pursuing it!