June 27, 2022 by

I Guess This is Goodbye By Vani Hanamirian

A collage of my four years on staff at MFS WordsWorth.

 

It’s hard to say goodbye to something that shaped what would become my future and grew to mean so much to me over four years.

I began WordsWorth as a ninth grader looking to pick up another minor course. I wasn’t in love with journalism – quite frankly I didn’t know anything about journalism. I didn’t read or watch the news, I wrote poems in my notebook when bored, not long articles for a publication. I wasn’t a journalist, nor did I want to be one.

Flash forward four years, and I am going to college for journalism. I crave learning more and more about the craft each day.

I found my first love in social media. When I created my first Instagram story for the WordsWorth account, I was so nervous that I screen-shotted the story and sent it to the Editor-in-Chief at the time, Andrew Rowan, for his approval before posting it. He obviously encouraged me to post what I felt should be posted. That was just the beginning of a love I would develop.

Over my four years on staff I went from Social Media Manager to Opinions Editor to Associate Editor-in-Chief to where I am now, Co-Editor-in-Chief.

A journey that is simplified into thirteen words in the sentence above, yet those words hardly represent the four years of working and struggling and failing.

Click on the image to see a collection of all of my favorite pieces over the years.

 

I learned about who I was through journalism. It became a way for me to express myself, whether it be when I got COVID-19, recovering from an eating disorder, or dealing with my sister, whose senior year in 2020 was ended abruptly by the pandemic. Writing articles cured the problems in my life because it was an outlet for my world. Sure, every good journalist is able to cover any story, but I learned the stories that mean something to you are the best ones you will publish.

The hardest part of discovering journalism over the past four years has been persuading people of the importance of journalism in our community. I have also spent countless hours editing print editions that people throw in the trash. But:

Journalism is about failing, it’s about learning, it’s about growing. The reason I love it so much is because I can mess up, I can make mistakes and still produce award-winning articles. Journalism is something special that not everyone gets to experience.

It is key to our community, even if it is underappreciated. Journalism has existed for so long because it is essential. It’s how people get their news, how people hear about what’s going on. How else would news be spread? Publications like WordsWorth and The New York Times share factual information with the world and help to elevate our understanding of the events occurring around us. There is no way for journalists to just disappear.

Journalism won’t and can’t disappear because of all the aspiring journalists at MFS. Andrew Rowan ’19, Shelby Deibler ’20, Sam Bitman ’21, and Dinah Megibow-Taylor ’24, are just a few, but there are so many more who inspire me everyday by their drive and passion for this craft. Journalism is not dying because it lights up something inside of these people. It drives them to work hard and publish, it drives them to run around doing crazy interviews and going random places, just as it drives me to continue working hard even when I feel like giving up because journalism is my fun, my career, my life.

It is hard to get anywhere without a support system. That is how one grows as a journalist. William Rawson, GSSPA President and journalism teacher at Pascack Valley, helped me grow outside of WordsWorth. He encouraged me and all the other students involved with GSSPA to work and have drive. He said to me a month ago, “You’re a great journalist who does important work, and I hope you realize that.” Mr. Rawson stands up for student journalism and student journalists, and without him I would not know of the opportunities journalism can present to anyone willing to listen for a minute.

Of course, I can’t forget the people who brought me into journalism, Diana Day and Debra Galler. Together they watched me grow and discover what journalism is and why it’s important. I got my core journalism training from them, and I am forever grateful for that. They bring journalism into students’ lives and inspire them to pursue their beats and passions.

And of course, my family. At fifteen I never believed I would have all of the experience in the field that I have. I have attended Yale Daily News and USC Summer Programs with their help. I have dragged my family hours away to visit newsrooms at different colleges just to make sure I would like the space in which I would potentially be working in for the next four years. My parents have jumped through hoops to get me to school early for distribution, or to Lab 2 on weekends for print editing. Most importantly they have read my articles and let me expose their lives on paper for the sake of an article.

Journalism is a special craft and career and it has brought me both joy and pain. The last time I walked into Lab 2 as a WordsWorth staff member I was struck with sadness. Passing on social media was hard for me, passing on WordsWorth is a different type of challenge. I will forever be appreciative of the memories and people gathered at MFS WordsWorth.

Award-winning journalist Winnie the Pooh said it best: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

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