A journalist involves working outside of your comfort zone, which presents opportunities to gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

The Feather adviser, Greg Stobbe, has taught me many things about how to write and how not to write. The tools that journalism offers can be used in everyday life, not just in publications. You can also take photojournalism which focuses on take pictures and videos of events that are happening.

I was a little hesitant about joining this class but with Stobbe always telling me to join, and a friend?s persuasion, I joined. I had thought about how these writing skills can benefit me in the future, especially in college. It took me three weeks to write my first article. Day by day I try to increase the efficiency and speed of writing my articles.

The writing skills you acquire from this class sticks to you. It will help you when you write essays for your english class or in future articles you will write. Journalism is one of the few subjects that can fully train students for skills that are essential to the job field. It can also bring attention to some colleges and they may reach out to you.

I have experienced the positive and negative sides of journalism. Though this is my first year taking journalism; it gave me the opportunity to meet new people. While I did not start as the best writer, and I still am not the best, journalism is helping me get better. — Sophomore Natalie Torres

Many consider journalism an easy A elective when in reality it is one of the the harder classes you can take. Students need to write two to three new articles each month or their grades will drop significantly.

Stobbe has high expectations for the articles that go up on The Feather. The more you write, the more you learn. He can be funny and mess around sometimes but he can also be very serious and focused at other times. One of the first things he shows you is what not to do.

I have learned I should always introduce the person before the quote and do not use contractions and now know the importance of show don’t tell. I’m still working on not using helping verbs.

Throughout the year I have been improving in my writing skills an am contemplating signing up for publications class again next year. But I do know that journalism helps improves writing skills.

I have experienced the positive and negative sides of journalism. Though this is my first year taking journalism; it gave me the opportunity to meet new people. While I did not start as the best writer, and I still am not the best, journalism is helping me get better.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @nataliatorres1.

For more opinions, read the March 5 article, Community reflects on life of Molly Griffin.