Jacob Smith
Opinions Editor
I didn’t really get involved in The Southern until my sophomore year. I first learned about the newspaper from the former online editor Salvatore Ambrosino in the Spivey lobby. I still don’t know why he was there, but he told me that I should come to Practicum that Friday.
That week, I signed up to cover the 9/11 stairmaster challenge that was going on at the wellness center. I had previously worked on my high school’s yearbook and magazine staff, so I knew how to write a journalism article, but I was still nervous to submit my work. When I picked up the finished paper and saw that my article was at the very top of the first page, I remember feeling so excited and proud. It felt like I had succeeded and proven myself to the staff. Then I took one more article and didn’t show up for the rest of the school year.
I’ve pretty much written off most of my freshman year because I didn’t do anything. I would go to class and then immediately go back to my dorm in the Spivey basement. I really regret this hermit lifestyle I was living because I ended up missing out on time with the people I would eventually call close friends so that I could sit on my computer all day. When I came back to campus as a sophomore, I knew I wasn’t going to do that again.
For that entire school year, I would take one to two stories each edition. At this point, I was enrolled in the Practicum class where I had to take articles for class credit, but I was mainly doing it for the love of the game. I would hop around between sections and try my hand at writing in different styles, but opinions was the one I went back to the most.
Two of my favorite articles came from writing for opinions that year. The first was a story about the now discontinued charged lemonade from Panera Bread. There were reports alleging that multiple people had passed away due to the sheer amount of caffeine that was in the drink, saying that it caused them heart issues. In my article, I had stated that this lemonade was the sole reason behind why those people passed away, which our advisor Dr. Trice did not approve of. The editor-in-chief at the time Emma told me that Trice freaked out when he saw that story and said it had to be pulled or else we could be sued.
On paper, this isn’t a happy or fun story, but I see it as a badge of honor of sorts. Like I was a real journalist now that I had one of my articles censored.
The second article was covering the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which was a partnership between Donald Trump and “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood. I found so much information about this bible and Trump’s previous products that I remember feeling overwhelmed by it. But this is the kind of thing that I enjoy about writing for opinions. I like going on deep dives about something that most people probably don’t know about and weaving together all my findings.
When Emma asked me if I wanted to be the next opinions editor at the end of that year, it felt like I had made it. I don’t like to toot my own horn, so having my work be acknowledged by someone other than myself is incredibly affirming and proves that the effort I’ve put in has been worth it.
I’ve acted as the opinions editor for two years now and it feels like barely any time has passed at all. I’ve faced plenty of struggles while in the role, like constantly refreshing Twitter to hopefully find something I could use for story ideas and having to rewrite an entire article because a writer said they had no opinion in an opinions article. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have been shed, but it’s all been worth it.
Being a part of The Southern has been one of the highlights of my college career. Having the opportunity to go to New Orleans and Washington, D.C. was incredible. Being surrounded by other college journalists from across the U.S. and getting to hear from people in the industry was a humbling experience and reaffirmed to me why I do the work I do. I’m also incredibly grateful for the bonds and memories made with the people on these trips and I will never forget them.
If you ever have any doubts about yourself, just know that you are enough. The rest of your life is waiting for you: you’ve just got to take that first step towards it.
