Beyond the learning aspects of the convention trip, the connections I made, with both the people within our publication and from another school, were unforgettable.
First day in, I became closer to Kathryn and Matthew in our Digital Photography workshop. We had lunch together in a little corner of Reading Terminal Market’s eating area, and the day was full of selfies, laughs, and hugs. Photographing alongside them was so fun, though I still wonder how they both managed to take over 1000 photos when I didn’t even take 500.
They taught me how to say out-of-pocket lines and how to lose sight of them in a crowded Reading Terminal Market (I think I need those red balloons attached to me). Our energies just blended so well that an adviser approached me right before lunch and told me how infectious my energy and smile were.
I also connected with so many other people in other publications this year, gathering over ten Instagram accounts, and this was only the first day. I heard from students who came from London, California, Texas, Georgia, and also from the city about their experiences. Last year, I met a girl from Georgia in my day workshop who was part of the Odyssey, and coincidentally enough, I met the Editor-in-Chief of the Odyssey this year who knew her. With Matt, we were interviewed by him. Funny how small the world can be.
The world continued to prove to be small when the next day, I saw these guys from a school in Philly, who’d been clowning around in my first session, How to Interview the Pros like a Pro, and somehow again later at KP’s session in the afternoon, Extracurricular to Extraordinary. It was such a funny coincidence. I wouldn’t have noticed a thing if they hadn’t been goofing off that morning.
At lunch, Kaitlyn, Clark, and I took off to Reading Terminal ahead of everyone else to quickly find food. They got Greek food, while it took a bit (a while, actually) longer for me to find chicken and waffles. We found the rest of the group eating chicken and waffles at a restaurant, after searching for many minutes for this particular chicken and waffles shop.
I found it after the fact, which became a laughable memory.
Mia, Josie, Matteo and I then went to buy bubble tea and smoothies afterward. No one was surprised; I find boba everywhere I go, and I’d say it was delicious.
I went into trivia night a nervous wreck. The playoff game against Garnet Valley was simultaneously occurring, and if we lost, I would miss my last game ever. Still, I tried to drown out the scariness of that thought by playing trivia with Maddie, Matthew, Kelly, Mark, and Riley. It was so fun, and the laughs and crazy lines I’ll never forget. Because our group was split in two for trivia, we were also very competitive with our other team. I’m happy to say we got more of the Philly trivia questions correct than them.
We didn’t care who won trivia when the football team lost the playoff match; many of us were crying and hugging, calling someone at the game. We left the ballroom 1000% sure everyone thought we were crying for losing in trivia.
On our last full day at the convention, I spent a major part of it with Matteo, where we attended Jump for Joy, the newspaper critique, the Editor-in-Chief Roundtable, and Inside Elections: Data, Reporting, and Democracy. Many were incredibly useful. We both took and shared notes that the other had missed, and I drew little doodles all over my left hand and leg. Matteo let me draw on his hands later on, and I drew footballs, rocket ships, and pizza, just random, silly things.
For simply ink pen, the drawings wouldn’t disappear for days after the convention, which was hilarious because mine had already faded.
Josie later joined in on the hand drawing at the NSPA Best of Show ceremony, and we all bonded over that. She drew stars and flowers on my hands, and they were so pretty. I was sad when they faded fast.
Evie and I had an early lunch together when we couldn’t find an empty class in our top choices. We sat together eating Greek food at the counter, checking up on each other, and bonding over yummy food and classes spent together. I wasn’t feeling great following the football team’s loss, and I was thankful to Evie for making me feel better, even if just a little bit.
Team bonding that night was spent at Kathryn’s house. We munched on pizza, fries, fruit, chips, and sweet treats while we watched Murder Mystery on Netflix.
We don’t talk about me being a scaredy cat, but at least we got some more laughs from the experience. The best part was meeting Kathryn’s dogs and bunny. So cute.
On the “last” day, it was optional to go to the JEA ceremony. I’m going to admit, I was planning to sleep in. I was exhausted, didn’t think I had a chance of receiving an award, and beyond the convention, many emotional things were happening back at home. But Matteo convinced me otherwise, and the great thing is, I don’t regret going.
From buying breakfast crepes together in Reading Terminal to squeezing my hands tightly with Evie’s during the actual ceremony to cheering when we won an award to playing phone games against Matteo and Clark on the train ride over, I had a ton of fun. Team bonding reached a peak. I forgot about my outside problems for a few hours. I even ended up winning an Honorable Mention in my category when I didn’t think I would!
It was journalisming at its finest. I would say this entire trip was.
We played more phone games on the way home.
