For as long as I can recall, I've spent each day consumed by worries about potential mishaps in every situation I encounter. Whether it be friendships, academics, or my home life, I have always been in constant fear that something will go wrong. What I failed to realize was that one day all of this worrying would soon catch up to me. Like every other sophomore in high school, I finished off what I thought to be a normal Wednesday night by completing my homework. What I didn’t know was that this “normal Wednesday night” would change my life forever. The night started off normal, I was stressed about an upcoming math test that I had been preparing for for five days in advance and I just could not get it. I began to grow frustrated as I attempted to do the final problem for a third time and that’s when it happened. As I saw the bright red x pop up on my screen, I got that feeling that I always get; the feeling that everything will go wrong, and that this minor inconvenience will determine how the next few years of my life will turn out. For some reason, this time the feeling grew stronger, and I began to feel a pain in my chest and struggle to catch my breath. The more upset I got, the harder it was to breathe, and I was eventually having what I later found out to be my first anxiety attack. After I had regained my composure, I spent the remainder of the night in a state of shock. I stayed in my room silent, terrified, and confused as to what just happened to me, to my body. Silent was how I spent the last few days of that week. The attack had put my body into so much shock that I lost the ability to form a sentence without stuttering every word. Even with everything going on, the next day I still decided to go to school and take my math test out of fear that I would miss too many assignments. I avoided my friends out of fear that they would laugh at me. I didn’t tell my parents until the next morning out of fear that they would worry about me. This stress and anxiety caused my grades to slip and my loud and outgoing personality to become quite and timid. Fear and anxiety are all that I knew, that is what got me through life at the time. And although I had seemed okay it was torture for me. Two years later, I am now a senior in high school dealing with more stress than I have ever dealt with. Between applying for colleges, keeping my grades up, and maintaining friendships I am more worried now than ever. But because of that one Wednesday night my sophomore year I have learned to cope with these worries and challenges I face. Through therapy and journaling, I realized that life is scary and sometimes completely out of my control. I realized that I spent so much of my life trying to prevent the bad from happening that I didn’t get to enjoy the good. To say that I am free of anxiety and ready to face anything would be untrue. What I can say is, as I enter this new and scary chapter of my life, I am anxious but ready. I am ready to grow as a person, ready to meet new people, ready to experience new things, and ready to cope when things get hard. Because of that one Wednesday night my sophomore year, I am ready.

Hi I'm Kamryn McCann. I am a 18 years old and I'm a senior at Cabrini High School located in New Orleans,La. I will be attending Louisiana State University in the fall of 2024 in pursue of a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication. I currently volunteer and tutor 3rd & 4th grade students at a charter school in my home town of New Orleans. During my time tutoring I've noticed many students look up to me as a big sister and mentor. With that being said I feel an obligation to the students and citizens of my community to be their voice and resource they need to navigate through society. As a young child, my dream has always been to work for a major news network. I can specifically recall the exact moment I feel in love with journalism. It was during my 6th grade year at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary. During there schools career day, I had the great honor to meet Sheba Turk a raising new anchor at WWL Channel 4 News. I can recall how confident she was while speaking, how informative she was about topics, and how passionate she was about journalism. In my opinion, she appeared as though she was having the time of her life. During a quick Q&A I was able to ask why did she decide to pursue journalism. With the most joyful smile ever she answered " I want to keep the world informed about very important issues and I want to have fun while doing it". This was the moment I knew I wanted to be a journalist. Making a positive impact through journalism is both a responsibility and an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society. Journalist wield the power to inform, educate, and inspire change. A few ways that I can achieve a positive impacts are; firstly, I can prioritize truth and accuracy in reporting. By presenting well researched, fact-checked information, I will empower the public to make informed decisions and combat misinformation and fake news. Secondly, I can amplify marginalized voices and shed light on issues that often go unnoticed. By giving a platform to underrepresented communities, I will promote diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Additionally, I can focus on solution oriented journalism. Instead of highlighting problems, I can showcase innovative solutions and success stories, motivating individuals and communities to take action and effect positive change. In conclusion, I plan to make a positive impact on the world with journalism by upholding journalistic ethics, amplifying diverse voices, holding power to account, promoting solutions, fostering empathy, advocating for sustainability, and encouraging civic engagement, journalists can contribute significantly to building a more informed, equitable, and just society.

Hi I'm Kamryn McCann. I am a 18 years old and I'm a senior at Cabrini High School located in New Orleans,La. I will be attending Louisiana State University in the fall of 2024 in pursue of a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication. I currently volunteer and tutor 3rd & 4th grade students at a charter school in my home town of New Orleans. During my time tutoring I've noticed many students look up to me as a big sister and mentor. With that being said I feel an obligation to the students and citizens of my community to be their voice and resource they need to navigate through society. As a young child, my dream has always been to work for a major news network. I can specifically recall the exact moment I feel in love with journalism. It was during my 6th grade year at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary. During there schools career day, I had the great honor to meet Sheba Turk a raising new anchor at WWL Channel 4 News. I can recall how confident she was while speaking, how informative she was about topics, and how passionate she was about journalism. In my opinion, she appeared as though she was having the time of her life. During a quick Q&A I was able to ask why did she decide to pursue journalism. With the most joyful smile ever she answered " I want to keep the world informed about very important issues and I want to have fun while doing it". This was the moment I knew I wanted to be a journalist. Making a positive impact through journalism is both a responsibility and an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society. Journalist wield the power to inform, educate, and inspire change. A few ways that I can achieve a positive impacts are; firstly, I can prioritize truth and accuracy in reporting. By presenting well researched, fact-checked information, I will empower the public to make informed decisions and combat misinformation and fake news. Secondly, I can amplify marginalized voices and shed light on issues that often go unnoticed. By giving a platform to underrepresented communities, I will promote diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Additionally, I can focus on solution oriented journalism. Instead of highlighting problems, I can showcase innovative solutions and success stories, motivating individuals and communities to take action and effect positive change. In conclusion, I plan to make a positive impact on the world with journalism by upholding journalistic ethics, amplifying diverse voices, holding power to account, promoting solutions, fostering empathy, advocating for sustainability, and encouraging civic engagement, journalists can contribute significantly to building a more informed, equitable, and just society.

Hi I'm Kamryn McCann. I am 18 years old and I'm a senior at Cabrini High School located in New Orleans,La. I will be attending Louisiana State University in the fall of 2024 in pursue of a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication. I currently volunteer and tutor 3rd & 4th grade students at a charter school in my home town of New Orleans. During my time tutoring I've noticed many students look up to me as a big sister and mentor. With that being said I feel an obligation to the students and citizens of my community to be their voice and resource they need to navigate through society. As a young child, my dream has always been to work for a major news network. I can specifically recall the exact moment I feel in love with journalism. It was during my 6th grade year at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary. During there schools career day, I had the great honor to meet Sheba Turk a raising new anchor at WWL Channel 4 News. I can recall how confident she was while speaking, how informative she was about topics, and how passionate she was about journalism. In my opinion, she appeared as though she was having the time of her life. During a quick Q&A I was able to ask why did she decide to pursue journalism. With the most joyful smile ever she answered " I want to keep the world informed about very important issues and I want to have fun while doing it". This was the moment I knew I wanted to be a journalist. Making a positive impact through journalism is both a responsibility and an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society. Journalist wield the power to inform, educate, and inspire change. A few ways that I can achieve a positive impacts are; firstly, I can prioritize truth and accuracy in reporting. By presenting well researched, fact-checked information, I will empower the public to make informed decisions and combat misinformation and fake news. Secondly, I can amplify marginalized voices and shed light on issues that often go unnoticed. By giving a platform to underrepresented communities, I will promote diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Additionally, I can focus on solution oriented journalism. Instead of highlighting problems, I can showcase innovative solutions and success stories, motivating individuals and communities to take action and effect positive change. In conclusion, I plan to make a positive impact on the world with journalism by upholding journalistic ethics, amplifying diverse voices, holding power to account, promoting solutions, fostering empathy, advocating for sustainability, and encouraging civic engagement, journalists can contribute significantly to building a more informed, equitable, and just society.