Personal Narrative

I could tell you how I have loved writing since I was able to spell my own name. I could tell you how I picked up a camera ten years ago and haven’t put it down. I could tell you that I helped build a news team from scratch. I could tell you about the awards I’ve won. I could tell you about my favorite articles. I could tell you so much about myself, who I am as a writer and what I’ve done. But nothing is as important as where I have done it, nothing is as personal as room 309.

 

It is currently 12:06 am on Christmas morning. I should be sleeping, but I decided that I have put this off long enough. 

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There is a page in my journal titled personal narrative which holds a collection of topics to cover, followed by a dozen angry notes of you were born to write how can you not write this one thing, an impossible question I have asked the mirror each night for the past three months. For my final draft, I will attempt to hit every point on that sheet. I will finally respond to the reflection in the mirror tomorrow morning as the best Christmas gift I have ever received. 

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#1 → Who is Alisyn Parkhurst?

My name is Alisyn Sue Parkhurst, but please call me Ali. I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil, before I could even read the words I was scribbling. I had a bad habit of ‘telling stories’ as my mom would say it, creating stories in my head that I would convince myself were real life. But for a child with so many emotions, sometimes stories were the only thing that made sense. 

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In elementary school, I was the sole journalist for KCNC, Kittrell Cougars News

Cast, at Kittrell Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa. I made it my life's purpose

to bring the best news to the 10-year-old kids forced to watch every Wednesday

morning at 9 a.m. 

 

Fast forward to October 20th, the day after Wahawk Insider won the All-Iowa

News Team of the Year, I couldn’t sleep for the life of me. I begged my eyes to

stay shut but they were glued to my phone screen, looking at the pictures of us

with the banner with tears pouring down my face. 

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Wahawk Insider was a first-year news team when we won this award, meaning the publication did not exist before 2022. After our first year, none of us were expecting to be in the final 15 news teams, let alone make the top five. The eleven students on staff my junior year put their hearts and souls into creating a beautiful program that not only impacted West High, but our entire community. 

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When I was finally able to get to sleep that night, my eyes were shut for no more than ten minutes before I fell into a dream where the nine-year-old version of myself laid on the floor next to me. She had my phone in her hands and was scrolling through the pictures of the Insider staff with the banner, tears pooling onto the hardwood floor just as mine had before. I have always been the person to have such vivid dreams like these, so it was no surprise when the nine-year-old Ali jumped up and ran to my bedside. 

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“You did it! You did it, you did it, you did it!” she was bouncing, taking my head with her. She pulled our faces to each other, our long blonde hair falling in each other's eyes. She wiped the tears from each of our cheeks and smiled the biggest, toothless smile I have ever seen on that big head before she walked out of my room. October 20th was the first time I realized how proud I was of myself and everything I have worked so hard for. 

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#2 → Room 309

The first time I walked into room 309 I was fifteen years old. It was the first day of my sophomore year and I had decided to join the yearbook staff as it was the closest thing I could get to a news team at West High. 

 

Walking into the program, I was met with a young teacher who was just as scared as I was to be part of something so big and monumental. I was also surrounded by  10 other students, most of whom were only in the class for an extra elective.  

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In the original group of 11 students, I stood among the three sophomores in a class of

seniors. As the group slowly faded into fewer students when the senioritis kicked in, more pressure was laid on the sophomores to pick up the slack that was being left behind.

 

Not only did we lack students, we lacked the proper equipment to successfully create a book. With just two cameras and less than a dozen working desktops, we had to get creative with how our program worked the first

year. This lack of equipment directly caused the issue with our coverage. We could not get

students to photograph events when they did not have the cameras to do so.

 

As 11 faded to seven and inevitably down to three, finishing the book in time seemed

nearly impossible, which it was. As the school year came to a close and the book did

not, I spent my summer editing and finishing spreads that were left empty. 

 

Journalism didn't always look like this at West High. Years ago, we were home to an

award-winning yearbook and an award-winning newspaper. As time went on, the

programs faded out, which led to the end of the former newspaper, The Spectator.

Before my sophomore year, the yearbook program saw new advisors each year for

three years, leaving so many inconsistencies and troubles for the staff members.

The remaining sophomores and I devoted all of our spare time to rebuilding the

yearbook program, and dreamt of being award-winning once again. 

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As we were planning for my junior year, the conversation of an online newspaper arose. My Advisor, Nicole Goodman, shared the dream of bringing back the award-winning newspaper that West High once had. The idea became my obsession, before it was even approved by the school I had hundreds of ideas flowing out of me like water. We knew it would be hard work, but if we could get through my sophomore year, there was nothing that could take us down.  

 

Getting our idea out of room 309 was not an easy task. To not only get approved by our school but also our district proved to be a difficult journey, however we had the best support from our Principal, Andy Meihe. After seeing how passionate we were about the class, Meihe put his foot down, agreeing that we would do whatever it took to create this program. 

 

Our next task was to get 20 students interested in the class in order to get online publications officially on the schedule. To do this, we took to social media, emails and teacher references to reach out to students who could be interested in joining the staff. 

 

After checking each box in this journey, we could finally begin the most exciting part, creating the Wahawk Insider.

 

As a returning junior for the yearbook, I took on the position of our Social Media Editor where I ran the yearbook Instagram and TikTok. After promoting the yearbook program all over social media accounts my sophomore year, we saw our yearbook staff increase by almost double in my second year. With the transition from a small group to having over 25 staff members, I took on a larger responsibility as a leader by helping new staff members learn the software and basic ropes of journalism. 

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My junior year was when I became known for my photography by the students

and staff at my school. I was able to travel across the state and be on the court

for basketball sub-state and state games and was seen at every softball game.

I was also given more access to my school as I gained recognition for my

writing and photography. This included exclusive pep talks with Dr. Anthony

Pappas and the Wahawk Girls basketball team before their games. This

recognition caused a growth the in attention for the yearbook as well as our

school newspaper. As people within my school and community saw our

content increase, our publications earned a more professional look. 

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During my junior year as a member of the first staff of Wahawk Insider, I published over sixty pieces in categories including sports, news, features, opinion, arts and entertainment as well as multimedia. Within these pieces, I received six journalism awards during my first year as a student journalist. I earned five awards from the Iowa High School Press Association as well as a national award from Ball State University. 

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Moving into senior year, I took on the role of the Editor-In-Chief for the yearbook, where I oversaw the entire program. This leadership was a big change in my life as it required a large time commitment inside and outside of the classroom. However, this position also allowed me to gain experience with problem-solving and helping create a positive atmosphere within the classroom. On top of this, I now hold the title of Sports and News Editor for Wahawk Insider.

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Walking into room 309 as a sophomore, I wanted to be a physical therapist. When I walk out of that room for the last time in May, I dream of living in the world of journalism for as long as I possibly can. The yearbook and online publications program has created a home for me within reporting, writing and photography, something I will forever be grateful for. 

 

#3 → Nicole Goodman

Right from the beginning, during my sophomore year, my journalism teacher was the most influential teacher in my life. Goodman was there for every bad day, no matter what was going on, she would be the first person to make me smile or ask what she could do to help. It was that support that got me through high school. 

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I applied for the Best of SNO award 19 times before I was accepted on my 20th submission. After my 15th article was rejected, I went through a serious time where I could not write anything. Every article felt worse than the last and I was at a really low time in my life with writing. Goodman was the first person to notice, and the first person to sit me down to tell me that this award did not define my career or my writing abilities- I think she said “it’s subjective” at least twenty times that day. But it was that conversation that got me back in the swing of writing, that pulled me out of the hole I was sitting in. 

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I know that in a few months when I cross the stage, Goodman will be in the crowd with her camera, as proud of me as she has been since I was 15. 

 

#4 → It was all worth it. 

In the last three years, I cannot tell you how many nights I went without sleep while

editing the yearbook or adding final touches to an article. I cannot tell you how many

times I have refreshed the Best of SNO website or how often I checked my email.

I cannot tell you how many interviews I’ve conducted or sources I’ve tracked down.

I cannot tell you how many photos my camera lenses and SD cards have seen. I

cannot tell you how many times my articles have been viewed or how many family

dinners I spent focused on my laptop. But what I can tell you, is that every single

day has been worth it. Every tear, every bad first draft, every energy drink I needed

to stay awake, it has all been worth it. 

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To hold the News Team of the Year banner, to hold my Best of SNO plaque, to watch the yearbook become award-winning, to watch the pride on Goodman's face. It has all been worth it. 

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I know that if my nine-year-old self could be sitting on my bed right now, she would hold my face in her hands and wipe the tears falling from my eyes. She’d tell me she was proud of me. She’d tell me it has all been worth it.