Personal Statement
A few months into my freshman year of high school, Issue 1 of The Muse was distributed to everyone during lunch and in certain art area classes. I was in awe of seeing the amazing work displayed on each page; from that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a part of The Muse. The idea of having my work be used to help tell someone’s story on such a large platform was just fascinating to me. When my sophomore year rolled around, I made sure to apply for the publication as a multimedia staffer. I got accepted, but it was as a graphics and design staffer instead of the position I had originally hoped for. I didn’t mind though– I had a background in digital arts and design, so I was eager to take on the role. Now that I have gone through several years on The Muse, I can proudly say that I have grown as an artist and as a person thanks to the wonderful people supporting me on my journey.
Here I am as a sophomore seeing my designs printed in The Muse for the first time.
Being on The Muse has reminded me that there is always more to learn in anything that I do. During the summer before my junior year, I was assigned various projects to complete as training before my official work on the publication. I got to read books on leadership and teamwork; design elements and principles; and I got to take an InDesign course. All those assignments aimed to prepare me for what I was to face during the year's many web and print cycles. So- did they work? I would say yes, I learned so much from doing the assignments; however, I think I have been able to build off of those lessons and learn so much more during the school year. Although I read and reflected on a book about healthy team dynamics, there was no way for me to truly understand what I was being taught until I had to get used to working with different individual teams every cycle AND the same design team the whole year. I had to adapt and learn to collaborate in ways that went beyond the teachings of a book.
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I went into my junior year of high school as the Graphics and Design editor for the year, and although that technically put me in a leadership position over my staffers, that didn't keep my team from teaching me countless things with every content cycle we completed. I've been reminded of the value of patience-- of meeting people where they are. Some of my staffers have been doing visual arts work their whole life, others had an interest in the idea of design and simply wanted to learn the art. As I have taken the time to get to know my teammates, I have had to take many different approaches to editing and guiding my staffers per their learning styles and how they feel most valued. It's such a great feeling when I get to see my staffers create work they're truly proud of.
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The work of a journalist puts one in a position to serve others: you work for teammates, you work for your audience. Every spread I've designed had to amplify a writer’s voice while also catering to our readers; every video I've edited grants viewers a closer look into the world around them. Nothing I produce on The Muse is ever just for myself, but that never bothered me. Instead, I relish being able to dig deeper and find meaningful ways to illustrate someone else’s story.
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This appreciation for communication arts that I've fostered across my years as a staffer and editor on The Muse has greatly influenced my future career goals as well. I intend to pursue mass media studies with the hopes of working in media management and media law. Having grown so familiar with these production processes has made me eager to learn more about how these industries work on a scale far grander than what we can cover in our high school.
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Throughout the time that I have been a member of The Muse, I have created designs and graphics to highlight the voices of our very talented writers and the stories of our diverse student body at Dreyfoos. Every print cycle has come with its highlights and proud moments, but none of those came without stressful hours of work or going through what feels like millions of design drafts over the span of a few days. Yet, seeing the work of my whole team printed in the official magazine- just like the pieces I had admired in my freshman year- and getting to work with such incredible staffers has made It all worth it. The past few years have simply flown by, but even in such a short period, I know that I have become a better teammate and journalist.
