Somehow, three times in a row, Mr. Schwartz convinced me to take journalism again instead of moving onto something else. If I could go back in time and do it all again, I would take journalism again every single time. The amount of opportunities I’ve had to express myself and highlight the things that I think are important were immense. Even when things got difficult, when trying to get in touch with the right people became increasingly frustrating, it was never not worth it. I’m really glad that I got to hone my skills in journalism so that I’m prepared for whatever awaits me in college.

In the beginning, I didn’t have my expectations too high, I thought my articles were relatively good and were worthy of being published. But seeing one of my articles win a Best of SNO award and being nominated for Best Feature in the Loudoun Now High School Journalism awards was something I never even considered. I’m really happy that I committed to this class, otherwise, I would’ve squandered so many achievements and opportunities.

I keep going back and forth between saying I’ll miss this place and never wanting to come back here again, but one thing I’m pretty concrete on, is that my time in L620 has been time well spent these past 3 years. I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and I’ll make sure to carry the wisdom, and of course, the F word that I learned in journalism: Facts.

Sincerely,
Brayden “Triple B” Bradley-Balcazar