Greetings, readers. I’m very excited and blessed to have an opportunity to write for the Newton County Appeal this summer. I’ve lived in Newton County in the town of Union for all the nineteen years I’ve been alive now, and I’ve had a wonderful time growing up here. I lived and still do live with my parents (my two brothers have gone off to college or work by now) in a house just down the road from the First Presbyterian Church of Union, my family’s church. Our close position to the church is quite convenient, though also not a coincidence, as my dad’s been the minister for that church since before I was born.
For most of my life I was homeschooled, mainly due to some disabilities I have. As a result, I sort of stayed in my own little world for most of my life. For my junior and senior years of high school, however, I attended Union High School. As you might imagine, I felt nervous about going, but it turned out to be a great experience that allowed me to take a small but significant step into a larger world. Just a couple weeks ago, I graduated from Union High School, leaving behind a place that meant a lot to me while walking forward to new places that will mean new things to me.
One of them is East Central Community College, which I will start attending in the fall. I’m quite excited to start on that adventure when it comes. I plan to get a technology degree there before likely transitioning to a larger university. I’m sure it will be more challenging than high school, but right now I’m optimistic that it’ll be a great experience; it might even be fun, who knows? Another new place for me is, of course, the Newton County Appeal, which I’ve just started a summer internship at, one that will give me a wonderful chance for me to explore the community I’ve grown up in by writing about it.
The way my life has played out has allowed for the places I have been a part of to be very special to me, and that includes our community here, which has always seemed like the whole world to me in a way. For a long while, I’ve wanted to be a writer. But though I wrote a few things here and there, I always remained unsure whether my interest in words would ever turn into anything besides just a casual hobby. Now, suddenly I find myself writing for my local newspaper, which is more than I could ever ask for. I’ve let my words wander around before, sharing them with people here and there, but it seems now I’ll really turn them loose into the world. Or, if not the world, then to the world I’ve known my whole life. I just hope those words can serve all you readers well in whatever way they can.
