I have never been one to claim that I was afraid of change. I’ve always prided myself on withstanding the constant changes that I went through growing up.
But after a summer of listening to “Stick Season Deluxe” by Noah Kahan and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift, I have realized that I am, in fact, afraid of change.
Starting this year, I knew that I was going to be in more leadership roles, such as being on the executive board in charge of public relations for both a club and my sorority. My role as the Editor-In-Chief of The Scout is, of course, the biggest of them all.
Ever since I walked in the door of The Scout office my freshman year, I knew I wanted to obtain the Editor-In-Chief role. Now that I am actually here with that title, I am petrified by all of the changes that I now need to navigate.
There is no more trying to track down everyone’s stories in my section, no more spinning in my chair waiting for WordPress to publish and no more writing every week. Now, my job is all about the ins and outs of the paper – and there have been some doubts.
I don’t know if I am ready for this role, being that I am in my junior year. I finally mastered the art of time management, but can that really save me when I have classes, projects and an entire staff to look after?
These questions have been floating around my head since I got the call that I was offered this position, even though I knew what I signed up for. I still feel like I’m not ready, but I don’t have to do it alone.
I have an amazing Managing Editor next to me who keeps me in check when I start to spiral out over any little thing, like having to fill the Voice section this week. I have a fantastic team of editors who I trust to produce the best stories anyone has ever seen. Now there’s also a new group of staff members who I am so excited to get to know over the course of this year.
With all of them next to me, I have a feeling that my fears and anxieties will soon subside and only be an afterthought. I know that I will get the hang of my job and help others accomplish theirs in the process. Everything will work out in the end and I won’t crash and burn like I was telling myself over and over again last month.
To the freshmen who are coming into their first year with the same fear of change, who I probably just scared even more, I promise you will be okay. It will be terrifying at first and you might want to cry about it at times and scream at others, but you will get the hang of it. You just need to find your support group like I did.
