OPINION
Monday was an interesting experience.
While Assistant Editor Martin Edwards and I were at the Career Expo at Owens Middle School, talking to students about what we do and why we do it, there were student reporters roaming the room, interviewing other representatives of different companies and organizations and snapping pictures.
Among them was my oldest, who right now has being a journalist at or near the top of her list of what she wants to do for a career.
Watching them work and practicing the skills they would need to work in my industry gave me a sense of pride and excitement.
Any chance I have to share my love of what I do with young people is one I will take.
That’s because being a reporter is something I feel is not only valuable but also rewarding.
Plus, the skills we use are skills that will benefi t them no matter what path they ultimately take.
I’m grateful to the administrators at Aubrey ISD whose faces lit up at the idea of having the students serve as reporters that day and for their teacher, Sheena LeMay-Nelssen, who encouraged them to take the opportunity.
The Career Expo itself, too, is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to have “a weird glimpse into adult life that [they] don’t usually get outside of [their] own parents,” as Julia said to me on Tuesday evening. Having the kids see options they could pursue is great for them as they approach high school and they start needing to specialize more toward where they ultimately want to go. As I said to some of the kids when they asked what advice I had for kids their age, now is the best time for them to try new things that they might not excel at to begin with.
When you’re young, your safety net for testing out who you want to be is bigger, and it gradually gets smaller as you grow up and have more responsibilities.
That doesn’t mean you’re stuck in the wrong place when you’re older, but the dangers of making lifechanging decision often feel or actually are greater.
So, to any young readers out there, go out on that tightrope as often as possible and use that safety net as often as you can while it’s big and strong.
May you perfect your path across so you don’t even need the net when you’re older.
Abigail Bardwell is the Editor & Publisher of the Post-Signal. She can be reached at aallen@postsignal. com.
