9.6.23

It was my own personal oasis. For six days it was something new. It was something mine. It was a wonderland to me. An undiscovered place—an unknown.

Taking risks is never something that I like to do. But this one was worth it. When I arrived I thought I was going to pass out from the fear. I was terrified. But I did it. I walked into the Washington Journalism and Media Conference with a smile on my face and shaking hands. I never looked back.

WJMC changed my life. I learned so much about myself, and something that I love so much: writing. But despite how incredible the speakers were, and how much fun I had at all of our events, that’s not what made the experience so unreal. No, that was because of the people.

I met some of the greatest people while I was there. I met people from all over the country, who all share a passion for writing. My group was the best group out there, and the friends I made are some of the best people I know. Those six days were not enough time to spend with those people. I wish we’d gotten more.

The speakers we heard from were awe-inspiring. I listened to Carmella Boykin speak. She’s from Grand Rapids and she runs social media for The Washington Post. I literally want to be her. I was so in awe of her and our other speakers, and the fact that I got to be in their presence was remarkable. Debriefing after the speakers with my color group made me realize that we were all amazed. We’d all found wonderland.

Within my color group (go big red!) I had a closer group. Those four people stuck by my side the whole time I was at WJMC. We ate together, we rode on the bus together, we hung out. If we weren’t asleep, we were together. So, thank you to Liz, Zane, Caroline, and Adam for being the reason saying goodbye was so heartbreaking.

And when I say heartbreaking, I mean it. I cried the whole last day. I was a mess. When my parents picked me up and I had to leave, the tears were not controllable. When I got in the car I was sobbing. I already missed them. I still miss them.

Outside of my comfort zone is my least favorite place to be. Yet every time I find myself there, it’s always incredible. WJMC was an otherworldly experience that I will never forget. The people I met and the things we did have shaped me into the new person I am now. It was my wonderland.