When I got the email telling me that I was accepted to the 2011 CSPA Journalism Workshop, I was excited. I was nervous. I was filled with anticipation. So many thoughts raced through my mind.
Is it going to be too hard? Am I going to be the worst writer there? Will the food be stuff that I don’t like, will I starve? Will my roommate follow the same schedule as me? What are the bathrooms and showers going to be like? Are the teachers and counselors going to be mean to me? Are the other students going to want to be my friend? And most of all: Are the other kids going to be weird, or unlike me?
Judging the situation before even entering it, typical me. But the thing was that I knew everyone was going to be different. As the weeks passed and more and more people started posting their short biographies on the Facebook group, I realized that I was in for a challenge. The challenge to cope with and adjust to people who are different than I am.
Yesterday was the first day of the workshop. As I walked near Lassen Hall to check in, I saw a lot of things. People with different color skin than me, unique hairstyles, unusual clothing styles. Just by the “tan-ness” of their skin, I could tell where people were from. I knew the majority were from SoCal. “SoCal and NorCal are like completely different countries,” I thought. “I am not going to fit in here.”
I’m not going to lie, I was intimidated. These people were so incredibly different than I am. I remember waving to my parents as they drove away and thinking that my conversation with them before they left was going to be the only real conversation I would have until they would come back next Friday.
But if I have learned one thing in the past two days, it is to not be judgemental.
As the day progressed, I actually made friends. Everyone was so different, yet so open to what others had to offer. Even though we are all different, we are bound by our common interest: journalism.
At school, I am one of the few that actually enjoy interviewing, blogging, and spending my free time writing. But here, at Cal Poly, everyone is just like me. At home, my friends and I are all connected by our backgrounds, our likes and dislikes, and our approach to living life. However, we are separated by our personal interests, what we are passionate about. Some of them are into dance, some are into school. It varies from person to person. At this workshop, my friends and I are connected by what we all love to do most: writing. Yet the environment that we each grew up in are completely different. We are all so diverse, yet get along so well. Diversity is not something to be afraid of.
I personally am so glad to be here. I am away from my little bubble of California High School. I am able to branch out and learn about people who come from different places. I am able to learn from their life experiences, and apply them to my life to be a better person.
Most of all, I am breaking free from my comfort zone, getting involved in activities that I would normally not be involved in, and learning that I can have fun with people that aren’t my closest best friends. But who knows, maybe after these two weeks, I might have met a person that I can call my closest best friend. I guess I’ll just have to see.