By CAMMIE BAGLEY
Athens/ Living Editor
One of the first things that professors, leaders and other college students tell incoming freshmen when they enter their first year of college is to become involved around campus and try new things. Going to college is supposed to be about more than just getting up, going to class, doing homework and then repeating that process over and over again.
Trying something that one has never done before is a good thing to do at any point in a person’s life. In college, the opportunities to try new things are seemingly endless. These opportunities could include joining a new club or organization on campus, travelling to an unfamiliar place or hanging out with a new group of people.
I tried something that was out of my comfort zone midway through my sophomore year here at Piedmont. I was encouraged by some friends on the Navigator staff to write an article for the Sports section.
Though I have always loved writing, I was uncomfortable with the thought of having my name printed on something that anyone on campus could read. I was also hesitant writing about sports, a topic with which I am not familiar. Not knowing how other students would respond to my work, I was self-conscious to try it, but I did anyway.
As one might guess, I got over that fear and tried my hand at journalism. I had some guidance from the editor-in-chief at the time, and I slowly realized that this was something I actually might enjoy doing. Once that first article was published, I beamed with pride at the work I had accomplished. Though I had written only one article in the entire paper, it was my article. I had done the research, put in the time and pieced it together using my abilities.
As an editor for the Living and Athens sections now, it’s obvious that my love for writing has broadened since I became a staff writer for the Navigator. I found my passion and ended up changing my major to accommodate that. For me, trying something new changed my life. Sure, I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but I quickly realized that a little discomfort is well worth the outcome of finding something to love and put my hard work into.
Through my personal experience, I want to encourage readers to try writing for the Roar. It’s a great way to express one’s creative side, as well as learn tips on grammar and writing, which no matter what career one plans on pursuing, those skills will be needed. It’s also a way of meeting new people and a means of communicating with the student body and faculty.
While I do consider myself an optimist, I do realize that we can’t all love the same things. Though many may not share my love for writing or journalism, I would at least like to encourage all Piedmont students to get out there and try something new.
It may not be the Roar that everyone is interested in writing for, but it should be something. College is the time that people are supposed to find themselves and what it is that they want to spend their life doing.
In the words of Ronald E. Osborn, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
