Looking back on my past three years with Mililani Times, it’s hard to think about what I’d be like today if I hadn’t joined. Coming into the program, I was a shy and timid girl with only a couple friends. I didn’t know what to expect, or more so what I had got myself into. Over the years, I have grown and learned many lessons — I honestly have too many to list. So here are my three biggest takeaways through my journey with Mililani Times.

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

I remember being so nervous on my first day of school; walking into L205 not knowing a single person in the class. Straight away Mr.Sato made us do name remembering ice breakers with the returning staff and rookies; this obviously made me uncomfortable because I knew no one. I still remember the fear and anxiety that came with a simple game, but it set the tone for the entire year and years to come. Being able to get the courage to interview someone that you don’t know is very uncomfortable to say the least. Even though I’m three years deep into this publication, I still get nervous when I interview someone, but it doesn’t compare to the fear I had of putting myself out there on my first day. Being able to interview an array of different people, from senators to students, allowed me to grow and helped me to be able to talk to new people. 

I also look at this in a social way — through Mililani Times I have gained a lot of friends that I wouldn’t have met if it wouldn’t have been for the publication. The beauty of Mililani Times is that we have people from an array of social circles on campus: athletes, theatre geeks, artists, etc. A lot of my friends today wouldn’t be my friend if it weren’t for Mililani Times — it pushed me to meet new people and make new friends.

     2.  Always ask questions, because sometimes you won’t find the answer yourself.

My first issue of Mililani Times, I was thrown into the deep end. I was given a story on the soft tennis team (which I had no clue what soft tennis was) and I had three days to complete it. I was petrified — I never talked to any other student or teacher besides the ones I had in class. I didn’t know anyone who even played soft tennis. So, I mustered up the courage to ask Mr.Sato for help on who I should contact — and I got the interviews. The next day it was time for me to actually conduct the interview and I got some conflicting information that I was unsure of what to do with. I ran back up campus from the gym to L205 to ask for advice and everyone and anyone was willing to help me. 

If I didn’t ask the questions, I probably wouldn’t have finished the story. Being a major introvert and a Virgo, I don’t like to ask for help. But over the years, I’ve learned that it’s okay to ask questions and more so to ask for help. This doesn’t only apply to journalism, but also my other classes. I’m more of a “do-it-myself” type of person, but being in this program helped me to understand that sometimes having help isn’t so bad. Having another set of eyes read my story or look over a design never hurts — so always ask questions and ask for help.

     3. Don’t look forward to the reward; appreciate the process.

Reflecting back on these past few years, I never really appreciated the time and effort it takes to put an issue together. I always dreaded the long layout weeks, the stressful planning of stories and the meticulous hours of editing. However, now that the ending of the year is cancelled, I actually miss the stress and process. A lot of the time we look forward to the end product — the issue itself. But we forget and oftentimes dislike the process; although the process is the part that helps us to improve. I took for granted the time and memories that took place within those long layout weeks. Yes, at times many of us can get on each other’s nerves, but not having the opportunity to have one last issue, and more importantly one last layout week makes me sad.

Mililani Times to me isn’t just a newspaper or a staff — it’s a family. Being a family doesn’t mean we’re all best friends, and we’re not, but it’s the common notion that we all are there for each other no matter what. When one of us needs help, the staff will rally to help that one person. It has given me a home for most of my high school career and helped to shape me to the person I am today. 

I want to thank my past journalism “parents” Camille and Taylor and last year’s EIC Caitlin for setting me up to be the EIC that I am today. Thank you to my wonderful and hard-working staff, you moved mountains to accomplish what we did this year, so thank you for everything. And mostly importantly thank you, Mr.Sato for always being there not only for me but the rest of the staff, even though  we annoy you most of the time, you always have our backs no matter what. 

Although this year did not end the way we wanted it to, it was still one for the books. For me, even though we did not get to publish the last three issues we wanted to, this year’s issues were amazing. I’ll always keep a little bit of Mililani Times with me, and I hope you do too, as the reader. Thank you Mililani Times for letting me be your Editor-in-Chief. Until next time.