Opinion: Branching out
The benefits I’ve experienced since joining “The Hawk Eye” staff
I laugh in the newspaper room with my friends I met on staff this year, Eyesha and Hannah. They are among the many friends I’ve met just within this semester.
Prior to this semester, I had no idea what I wished to pursue as a career. This indecisiveness is something I have struggled with for as long as I could remember. However, upon joining “The Hawk Eye” staff, I feel as though I’m now certain of what I want to become, and I feel secure in a group of individuals for once in my life.
I originally joined the staff because I wanted to gain an insight on different styles of writing, but I never imagined the benefits that could come from applying. During my time in the prerequisite, journalism, I began to develop a love of writing and soon realized I wanted to pursue writing as my career. I decided that if I were to join “The Hawk Eye” and learn different types of writing styles, I could grow my general knowledge of literature for my future as a potential writer.
As I have progressed through stories as a reporter, I have become more aware of my writing. I have learned to adapt my writing after observing common edits I would get on my stories that consisted of grammatical errors and flow issues. Now, I put more thought into what and how I write. I find myself revising my pieces before sending them to be edited, which is dramatic growth considering I used to find it hard deciding on what to revise what I wrote at the start of the semester. I put more consideration into structure and word choice now more than ever.
Learning different styles of writing has pushed me to dive deep into literature I once did not feel drawn to, and I’ve even developed my own sense of personal writing style, love of poetry and created a romance blog. Being a reporter for “The Hawk Eye” has aided me in discovering my love for writing.
Conversely, I’ve noticed self improvement. I tend to be a quieter person, but since stepping through the door of room 1315 on the first day of my sophomore year, I began to branch out socially and I’ve become more open to having conversations with those I may not know too well. I’ve built new relationships with people I could have never imagined I’d meet outside of the publication.
I haven’t had much experience on the newspaper staff, given that I’ve been a part of it for merely a semester, but I am looking forward to gaining more personal relationships with both reporters and editors, as well as seeing what becomes of my journey toward becoming a professional writer.

Junior Rahma Shaikh is a reporter and this is her second year on staff. She loves music, reading and autumn. She also has a cat named Belle.

Sophomore Bree Andrews is a reporter and this is her first year on staff. In her free time she enjoys spending too much time on Pinterest, watching cheesy...