My favorite app is Voice Memos. I know, not Instagram or TikTok — not even Pinterest. Why Voice Memos, an unassuming app most people probably leave forgotten in the seas of their device?

Well, I, for one, use Voice Memos a lot more often than the average person. Dozens of recordings — ranging from a minute long to over an hour — span my “All Recordings” tab, reflecting a compiled history of my three years on The Hoofbeat.

For me, Voice Memos is more than an app; it’s a carefully preserved archive of some of the best memories of my high school career as a student journalist.

Coming into high school, inundated with the dizzying array of clubs and activities MN has to offer, I knew one thing: I wanted to write for the school newspaper. After taking the prerequisite class freshman year, I became a staff writer my sophomore year.

And truthfully, I felt extremely out of place. I loved writing, but there was one slightly crucial detail I failed to forget about the crux of journalism: interviews.

What do you mean I suddenly had to pull out a big scary senior I had never met from their AP Gov class? Or the principal, or a teacher, or any other member really of the MN community that I was not on speaking terms with?

My introvert self was freaking out. Before I joined the newspaper, I thought I had a general understanding of the kind of person a journalist is: bold, outspoken, and relentless — basically everything I wasn’t. I had grown up seeing journalists on TV thrust their microphones into people’s faces, interrogating them on what could be the worst day of their life.

I, in contrast, would have rather done anything but that, believing I was too timid and shy for that kind of role. I was happy to simply write, shying away from the seemingly brusque nature of the occupation, my only slip of identity an indiscreet byline.    

But honestly, looking back now as the Co-Editor in-Chief, I’ve actually found that my favorite part about journalism is… the interviews. I’ve learned that journalism has far more nuances than what I originally believed. Yes, to be a journalist means to seek the whole truth; we take risks and perhaps wind up in situations that are uncomfortable.

But throughout my three years on the newspaper, I’ve also been a part of the gentler, humanistic side of journalism. From covering a beloved staff member’s cancer journey and having a press conference with the superintendent to learning about a student’s passion for fashion design and highlighting the ACP program, I’ve been able to connect to and share the stories of people who I might not have ever met.

Journalism has taught me a myriad of things about myself, and I would say the main one is I’ve learned I’m capable of more than I think.

My only limiting factor was my mind; I realized through courage and the willingness to step out of my comfort zone, I too could be confident and discover character traits that I once thought I didn’t have, but in reality they were just hidden. And through journalism, I’ve been able to discover these traits and grow as a listener, a writer, a leader, and a friend.

I’m going to miss The Hoofbeat — with such a fantastic advisor and staff, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this amazing environment I’ve had the privilege of being a part of for the past three years.

But I know that my journalism career is not over, and I’ll forever keep these recordings and will be ready to add another Voice Memo the next time I hit record.