Whether you want to believe it or not, everyone has fallen to peer pressure. I myself fell into peer pressure my freshman year, but not in the way you would expect.

It was getting close to the end of the semester, and a couple of my friends in my English class were talking to Mr. Broer about applications. I, being my nosy self, discovered it was applications for the Mycenaean, the newspaper here at Leesville. I still had elective openings that I hadn’t filled yet, and so thanks to peer pressure, I filled out an application myself.

I didn’t expect much from the situation. I planned on taking the class for a semester or two and then joining other elective classes, but boy, was I wrong. I stepped into a welcoming community in the Mycenaean classroom.

Newspaper soon became one of my favorite classes. I was able to write about almost everything, as long as it was “Leesville-centric”. I wrote about topics that truly mattered to me, such as the handling of Hispanic Heritage Month, the effect of the bathroom closures, and so much more.

I was also able to cover topics that were more important to students than school itself, such as  the Murphy Pools remodel, the scariness of Elmo, and students walking out for safety against guns in school.

In the newsroom, through avid discussion, I learned more about the student-led walkouts around the country on September 5. Maddie Gransden, staff writer, and I took our concerns to Mrs. Jacobs and led the walkout at Leesville.

If it weren’t for the newspaper, I never would have led this walkout. I was able to help the students of Leesville see that we can spark change as students. Leading this walkout allowed me to express myself in a way that I never thought was possible.

Newspaper became a space where I could express myself through writing, activism and so much more. Prior to joining the Mycenaean, I thought our school newspaper only put out one physical newspaper a semester. I soon learned that the Mycenaean news team goes so much further than that.

I learned about and was able to take part in the website, where most of our articles get posted, our social media — TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube — and most recently, the Mycenaean podcast. I was able to grow in my social media skills through work on the Mycenaean social media, and I was given the space to create the Mic’ed Up Mycenaean Podcast, a new way for the students of Leesville to get their news, which hopefully will last past my time at Leesville.

Overall, I was able to grow in so many skills throughout my time on staff. I gained skills in time management, responsibility, grammar, and many more.

Gaining those skills gave me more time to get to know the people who were also a part of the class, many of whom became friends rather than classmates. I met people whom I would never have known if it weren’t for spending time in class; these people have become a key part of my high school life.

If I weren’t in the newspaper, I never would have met these people, and what we accomplished would have never happened. Together, we stood against the school board to fight for our website, which is an experience I never would have had, but I am so grateful to have had.

Newspaper showed me how to push further than I ever thought I could go and to ask questions further than what is answered. 

Overall, the Mycenaean allowed me to grow in so many ways. It allowed me to meet people, grow in soft skills, explore new topics, and grow as a person in so many ways.

If you have a friend who is applying for The Mycenaean, I highly recommend filling out an application for yourself, even if it’s just for the plot.