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I’m going to miss this so much

January 26, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Avery Park

In part, this is a thank-you letter to the people at the Orangeville Citizen for giving me this amazing opportunity, and also a thank-you to the people of Orangeville for their support.

During the past five months, I have been working here at the Citizen for a few hours each day and have learned more then I ever could have imagined.

I have learned basic skills, like how to properly write and how to communicate information in a way people can understand, and I have also gained experience in the field I would like to continue in.

As well as those skills, I have learned how to treat an interview as a conversation, not be afraid of the phone, and I have become more comfortable talking to people I have never met and would never have met if I didn’t have this co-op.

There have been so many wonderful times in and out of the office that I will never forget, and this has helped me to grow in so many ways. I feel I have grown as a person, and as an aspiring journalist.

Looking back to the start, which was only in late September, I was very nervous about meeting so many people and coming to an office everyday for the next couple months. I had no idea what it was going to be like.

I was told I would have a desk to work at every day, and that I would be writing something mostly everyday, and that made me even more nervous. I didn’t think I was qualified enough to be put in this position, but here I was.

After my first day, I had written my introductory piece and had conversations about interviews and other stories I could write in the future. It was very overwhelming, and I went home that night and told everything to my family because I was so excited about what I would be doing.

As things progressed, I was given more stories and I started making interviews and calling people to ask questions, and became comfortable with everything I had been doing. At first I was pushing myself way out of my comfort zone, but now I can confidently say I am comfortable where I am.

The biggest week for myself was the week of Westside’s Pink Day, because I was participating in that when I was at school and also at coop. It has been the longest story I have written, and the most chaotic event I took pictures of. There was so much going on, I was running everywhere trying to get good pictures and talk to as many people as I could.

Since then nothing has been quite as chaotic, but I’m still writing something every day. I believe my writing skills have improved greatly, and sometimes I can type without looking at the keyboard. Everything has been a new learning experience for me and I’m thankful for everything I’ve done.

There have been a few times where people I talk to in the community will recognize me because of what I have written in the paper, and that feeling is unlike anything I’ve felt before. I’m thankful for the support I have gotten in the community and hope I can keep receiving this support as I pursue this in post-secondary.

I have been able to meet new people and learn new skills in these few months that I would not trade for anything else. This experience was one of a lifetime.

Everyone at the newspaper has been overly welcoming and helpful when it comes to improving my abilities. I have never felt uncomfortable asking a question or talking to anyone in the office. It is a very open environment to work in and I have enjoyed every moment of it.

The people here truly enjoy what they do everyday, and it’s always a helpful and happy environment to work in. The appreciation I feel towards these people is indescribable.

As of today, Jan. 25th, my co-op placement is officially over and I’m now at school doing a presentation about what I have done at my placement. This presentation is supposed to be about five minutes, but with everything I’ve done, it will probably be much longer.

I still find it unbelievable that I have written so much that has gone to the public and will hopefully continue to after my post-secondary education. I now know this is what I want to do, and will work my hardest to achieve that.

In this, I would like to thank all of the people that gave me a chance, from everyone at the Citizen to the people I interviewed, there were many people that aided in me getting to this point.

I believe Winnie the Pooh says it best, “Goodbye..? Oh no, please. Can’t we go back to page one and do it all over again?”

Until we meet again, Orangeville!

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