MAKING CONNECTIONS
Kelly Montague
While I learned a lot about writing, I think I learned about myself just as much. The social aspect of NHSJC was amazing.
I brought a package of silly bands and stickers on the trip with me, vowing I’d give them out to anyone cool I met. In the end, I ended up giving over 10 bands and 4 stickers away. And I’m super proud of myself. Someone even sent me a picture of the silly band I gave him after the convention! Do I regret not giving some out? Absolutely. But I’m glad I still got the chance.
This trip was a huge opportunity for me to be more social, and more so like an extroverted person. Thinking about it, it makes me smile ear-to-ear because I couldn’t have been happier with how I got through things. I gained lots of people’s contact information, and lots of Instagrams, and I’m thrilled.
On the day of our Quizzo, there was a mini journalist/yearbook nerd mosh pit, and it just made me think of the fact that these are people just like me. We love fun things, and this includes journalism.
Connecting with our team at Friday’s Trivia Night
On Thursday, Joe, Michelle, and I ended up “adopting” a guy named Joey, who was a senior who lived in St. Louis. He was in the class alone, and we needed a group to travel with, so we wanted to include him. It turned out to be a great experience, we had so much fun under the arch.
Not only did we meet him, but we also got the opportunity to interview people from different states, which was really fun. We asked them about the slang that Philly uses, to see if they knew. We also asked about Wawa, which is only local to the Eastern parts of the US.
I don’t think I regret a ton on this trip, especially when it came to the people I talked to. Most of the time, they were all quite pleasant.
It’s just so cool how you could go up to anyone and they wouldn’t live in PA. We represented the state since there weren’t any other students from our state in attendance. Hearing other people share their stories makes me not feel alone as a journalist, and I think that’s a great thing one could ask for. I look forward to staying in touch with the friends I made during my adventures in STL.