I Corinthians 12:4-7 (NIV) says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
Sadly, I never understood the verses above. I struggled through junior high, trying to find myself and discover what exactly God wanted me to accomplish. The long awaited high school began, and I saw my friends drift away and come back. I made new friends, joined things I would never had thought I would and tried to find my spiritual gift.
Finally, I joined journalism in hopes of finding my voice. And unlike the many who believe that the field of journalism is too time-consuming, or that Adviser Greg Stobbe is too crazy and demanding, I have enjoyed every moment.
I am a lifer to journalism. I came into high school with journalism as my elective and have never changed it since. Everyday I’ve learned something new in the class and have grown in unimaginable ways. For example, I know what not to do in a group trip to New York. I also know how to edit pictures using photoshop and various other computer tools.
Of course, there were difficulties along the way, but I worked through all of them to try and understand God’s will. One of the things that is most interesting is that I should have never come to FC. Being the only Hmong student (besides my family) and living half an hour away is reason enough to not go here, but because my parents were avidly against public schools, I came here, and joined journalism.
Stobbe constantly challenged me by making me take on articles that took months to finish, but the finished project was worth it. In journalism I met amazing people who were sometimes overly involved with school. At the same time, I met people who were entirely devoted to journalism, spending several periods in the class and ultimately changing the lab room into a home.
As my last article, I want to thank faithful followers for the time you put into reading The Feather. Your adamant curiosity in my articles is probably the reason I stayed for so long. It is the most interesting experience to have different editors every year and to change from that scared first encounter to becoming respected peers. As the years have gone by, my own fellow classmates have become editors and I’m glad I was there to watch them grow.
So, my advice to students now is to do everything that comes along. Never take anything for granted, despite peer pressure. If something interests you that your friends have no interest in, don’t let that take away your reason to do it. None of my friends initially joined journalism and therefore, when the first day of ninth grade began, I was tossed into a class with random strangers.
Also, notice other people. Stop thinking that this is only your life and only you matter. Don’t live for drama in high school; I’ve seen too many friendships broken or hurt because of it.
The most significant lesson journalism taught me was to be more aware of my surroundings. There were multiple times when I had to go out of my comfort zone to cover stories that took weeks or even months to write. Those times were, of course, the best. Through those articles, I understood that there are other lives that matter and writing their stories was what made my day better.
Honestly, it is difficult writing my final article, and knowing that I might never get this opportunity again. There are so many words that have yet to be written, like booyah and supercalifragilisticexpialadocias.
I have finally discovered my calling in high school. It was to be a part of journalism; to go through all the ups and downs with the group like winning the Pacemaker and Gold Crown one year and not the following year.
With a crazy future ahead of me, I hope to impact more lives by attending University of California, Irvine (the school of Biological Sciences) and becoming a physician. There, my voice will continue to grow as well as an understanding of my spiritual gift.
Senior Gigi Thao will attend University of California, Irvine, in the fall, where she will study to become a physician.
For more senior columns, read the May 9 article, Choral group enhances senior’s singing passion.