How did I get here? Who decided to let me write a weekly column? Why am I getting paid for this? Does my column have a good name? All of these questions and more will probably not be answered in the following article.

As someone who has always had an interest in writing, becoming a part of The Carroll News seemed like an obvious choice once I started my first year of college. I would stop in every once in a while, write about anything I could and get a feeling of satisfaction with my work. Toward the end of my first year, I leapt at the opportunity to further my career with TCN. Becoming the Opinion Editor seemed like the logical step up– write more consistently, proofread the articles of other journalists and even get paid for it. However, after lowering my rose-tinted glasses, reality began to set in and the real responsibilities of the job became apparent. Coming up with new stories every week? Committing to attending meetings? Actually doing things?

So, it turns out that having a job means that I’ll actually have to do my job. I never would have guessed. After showing up unprepared to my very first planning meeting as an editor, I was reasonably horrified at my potential job performance. And that’s where I am today. This is usually the point in the story where some dramatic twist comes in or a “but…” changes the way I see life, but there’s none of that. Here I am. I don’t know what I’m doing.

So… I’m trying. Truthfully, I don’t know what I’m doing. Lord knows I’ll continue making mistakes. But I guess that’s life. I truly do enjoy my job with The Carroll News, and I fully intend to keep working at it to the best of my ability. I realize that this job will come with a lot of hard work and effort and I am willing to meet those requirements. I realize it will not be easy, but this job is something I genuinely care about, so it’s worth it to me. Sure, maybe I won’t do a perfect job, but I will do the best I can to leave my mark on The Carroll News.