As the end of the year approaches and the next chapter of my education nears, I retrospect, in remembrance of all The Feather has taught me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I joined. I thought I would just be taking photos and posting on Instagram, but I quickly learned there is so much more to The Feather than social media. The valuable skills this course has equipped me with will stick with me for the rest of my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for the staff members who have now become my family.
I initially joined the team in my junior year because my two best friends were in the class. In our sophomore year, we collectively decided to join Home Economics together, but our plan didn’t play out as expected. Long story short, the life skills class was full and I was the only one in our group that made it into the class, and as a result, they enrolled in The Feather.
As a two-year photojournalist, I learned about the art of photography and how to operate a professional camera. Some other skills I obtained are researching, writing and publishing photo posts on our website, The Feather Online. I put both of these skills to use when writing, Fresno Blossom Trail 2023. I was given the opportunity to travel around the edges of Fresno to shoot the beautiful spring flowers as they bloomed. One difficulty I ran into during this assignment was showing up a week before the flowers were fully bloomed, forcing me to navigate around the trail to find clusters of full flowers. I left feeling discouraged because it didn’t go as planned. I thought the photos were going to turn out awful, but as I processed, I came to realize that I was happy with the results. From that experience, I learned how to think quickly and create something good from a bad situation.
My favorite memory from my senior year on the Advanced Digital Media team would definitely be Kids Day. The staff arrived on the surrounding street corners of FCS at 5:30 a.m. to raise awareness for Valley Children’s Hospital. We waved signs, danced around to early 2000s music and handed QR codes to the cars at the stop light. It was so memorable because although we were supporting a very important charity, the team still made fundraising a blast.
Looking back on my work from junior year reminds me of how far I‘ve come and excites me for what’s to come as I expand my knowledge after high school. This fall I plan to attend Vanguard University with a major in Liberal Studies and a minor in Worship Arts. I plan to use these skills in college by taking photos of friends to make extra money and utilizing my understanding of social media to write devotionals and share the gospel with as many people as I can.
I would like to encourage students who are interested in The Feather but haven’t decided if it’s for you.
If you want to learn life skills that you will use for the rest of your life, take this class. I’ve learned so much just in the past two years that even helped me get photography and social media management jobs. Although this class requires hard work, it’s all worth it because of the community of people you grow close to and the headstart you get to college and job expectations.
It seems like yesterday I was the timid little girl joining the sixth grade Fresno Christian class halfway through the year. And now, here we are, eight days away from the ceremony that will change our lives forever. May 25, 2023 is the day we become high school graduates and soon-to-be college freshmen.
I want to give my thanks to every person that has impacted me here at Fresno Christian. Thank you to Feather Adviser Kori James, for not only pushing me to be a better student but a better person all around. Thank you to Taylor Beckworth and Aubrey Graham for being the reason I joined the Feather, because of you I discovered my love for writing. And thank you to the rest of the team for making first period the best part of my day. I pray for the seniors that the Lord would guide their every step as they enter this new chapter of life, and that they would lean on Him with full trust in His will. Finally, thank you Fresno Christian for equipping me with the skills to pay the bills and for introducing me to my best friends.
To read more from The Feather visit Senior reflection: Taylor Beckworth
Below is a slideshow of some of Cox’s favorite photos she has taken throughout the year.
To purchase photos visit Smugmug
