A Confidence-Booster and a Catalyst for Change

By ALYSSA PATRICK
EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL

Three years and four months ago, my name appeared for the first time on the inside back page of the sports section of this newspaper.

There it was, proudly sitting atop my first published piece. I was in the eighth grade still, not even a high schooler yet. Not driving, not going to prom, not thinking about college, and yet I was a published journalist.

What a sparkling moment that was. But the beauty of Unleashed is, that wasn’t even the best part.

Being published in the newspaper is always a rewarding feeling, but this program has given me so much more than just a byline. It has helped to shape me.

My very first real news story took me about five leagues out of my comfort realm. I was a freshman ballet dancer who loved to read, and I was headed to a skate park for the first time in my life. Nerves fluttered through my body as my dad drove me down 40th Avenue, not because I was scared of the people who would be at the park, but because I was scared of what they would think of me.

I felt so vastly different from my idea of a “skater,” yet I was supposed to not only talk to them, but ask them questions about their lives. The story was about a man who barbecued every Sunday for free at the park. Of course, my first mission was to talk to him, and luckily I found him right away. We ended up talking for about an hour, and I grew more and more comfortable by the minute.

“What a fascinating person!” I thought. “Look at how much time he is willing to put in for these kids, look at how caring he is.” And after I talked to him, I talked to the “skaters,” who turned out to be just people. People who followed their hobby with great zeal, people who appreciated the warm smiles and burgers of a man who genuinely cared about their well-being.

I learned a tremendous amount that day — about myself, about others, about life in general. These are lessons I would have missed without Unleashed.

And over the years I’ve learned even more, especially from the people I have encountered.

It seems the part I always dreaded most, calling a source for an interview, always ended up being the most rewarding. Being a journalist allows me to get into people’s lives, to hear and be trusted with their stories. Sure, I may have met Michelle Wyles at a community event of some sort, but I would never have learned how she was an antique dealer before she settled down as a small business owner if I hadn’t been working on a story about her store, Garden Dance.

I may have seen Azalea Koestler in a play at Yakima Valley Community College one day, but I would not have had the chance to sit comfortably in her home and watch her speak so maturely about her theatrical life if I had not been writing a profile about her.

Yakima has such a stunning variety of people with interesting stories to tell, with passions and opinions to share. Talking with an assorted handful of these people has opened my eyes to the uniqueness of this community, and granted me the ability to appreciate it long before I would have without Unleashed.

Working as the student editor has also assisted in cultivating my respect for all things Yakima-made, especially this newspaper. A couple days a week, I get to spend my time among reporters, photographers, editors and many other people who work so hard for an industry and community that they believe in.

They stretch themselves out as much as possible to objectively cover all aspects of every issue that may be interesting or important to a town like Yakima. They work odd hours, have frequent meetings in order to keep altering and adapting to changes, constantly learn new technology, share their rewarding interviews, work aptly on deadline, and keep a sense of humor through it all.

I’ve learned so much about how I want to live my life by merely being in the same room with them.

In three years and four months, my writing skills have improved, my attention to detail has blossomed, my understanding has broadened, and my confidence has taken several steps upward. Unleashed is the catalyst that allowed all of those changes.

Thank you, Unleashed.

— Alyssa Patrick, a senior at Eisenhower High School, is in her fourth year on the Unleashed team. She is also in her second year as the student editor of Unleashed.