When I was in elementary school, I kept a journal. It was a small, navy blue booklet with rounded corners and a worn cover. In that journal, I wrote about everything; my activities, my friends, my dog and random anecdotes. My writing was free-flowing because the topics didn’t matter, and I was too young to edit my own spelling and grammatical errors or knowingly censor my own ideas. Over the years, I went through many journals, sometimes only using a few pages before moving on to the next one. As a busy teenager though, I stopped keeping up with my personal writing altogether.

The weekly blog club, Write Off brought me back to my journal. We met on Sunday afternoons and completed activities that prompted personal, reflective thinking. My instructor encouraged me to get my ideas down on paper before I could even think to edit them in my head. When I finally had a hard copy of my ideas, they became more real, and I felt a lot more confident about sharing them with my fellow cherubs.

Here at Medill, I’ve learned about a lot more than just journalism. Not only have I become better at researching, interviewing, reporting and writing, I’ve also learned how to write for fun again. I’ve been able to share personal essays and focus on the journey, rather than just the outcome. I’ve been able to take raw experiences and turn them into stories, all the while taking comfort in knowing that my angle wouldn’t be critiqued, and I wouldn’t get points off for AP Style errors. Up until this point, my journalism experience had consisted of sharing other people’s stories, but Instructor Mary Lou Song taught me how to “find the heat” and share my own stories.

Sunday night Write Off gave me the perfect opportunity to share my blogs, stories that I might not have shared otherwise. By coming to the cherub program, I’ve had the time, instruction, and most importantly, the encouragement to craft my own stories.

When I get home, I’ll be ready to start a new navy blue journal.