Lessons learned

My columns were due on Wednesdays and they were published on Saturdays — this meant that every Sunday when I had a column, like clockwork, I’d be glued to my laptop screen, refreshing the SMDJ page over and over to see if anyone had reacted to my writing. Growing up as a teenager in the Bay Area, I often felt like I was growing up within a bubble. Everyone that is in my sphere of interaction has similar political perspectives, viewpoints on life, and experiences in general. However, through the comment sections of my columns I discovered the importance of a difference of opinion. Often when I read the comments under my stories, I would find that they didn’t necessarily agree with my outlook, however, they were always extremely polite and explained their dissent with clarity and no judgment at all. Did I agree with them? No, I still don’t, but at least now I can understand them. One of journalism’s most important abilities is to break echo chambers in this way and expand thought processes.

Another lesson I learned was through my favorite column I wrote for the San Mateo Daily Journal — the coverage on the anti-mask-mandate protests that occurred at Burlingame High School. I had very strong opinions on them, but I was forced to put all reservations aside when interviewing the participants of the walkout. This lesson of objectivity was probably the most difficult one to learn for me but also one of the most rewarding. Removing my judgments and only playing the role of a reporter provided me with a far more nuanced viewpoint — one I may have missed out on if I forced my own voice into the medley.

A close second on my list of favorite columns provided me with my final lesson. It was my most recent one, a profile on two amazing women from Half Moon Bay who are starting a unique all-girls academy in Half Moon Bay and intend to revolutionize the American education system. After I wrote the column, they reached out to thank me about it and told me about how well I understood exactly what they wanted to say. As a journalist, I feel that it is too easy to become overly clinical. To become detached from the subject matter of the articles and view it as only letters on paper — however, little moments, like the email Claire and Lindsay sent me, are the perfect reminders that in some way every word and every article makes a difference in someone’s life. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about?

I’m going to college in fall and I’ll have to leave this amazing community I’ve found at the San Mateo Daily Journal, but I know that these lessons I’ve learned will stay with me forever.

Samidha Mishra is a recent graduate of San Mateo High School. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.