A Millennial in Wonderland

This weekend marks my first full year of living in Cape May.  Journalists are supposed to avoid clichés in their writing, but this year really flew by fast. It’s been a whirlwind, I blinked and time was gone (seriously, I’ll just apply all the applicable clichés).

One minute you’re in college and wishing you were out in the real world. Next thing you know, you’re working fulltime, paying rent and daring to wonder the next time you’ll be able to afford to travel somewhere, anywhere (preferably back to Harry Potter world, Nashville, or somewhere new like New Orleans or Europe).

My writing capabilities have grown substantially in the past year. I’ve spent the last seven months writing for the Cape May Star and Wave Newspaper, learning tricks that you can’t learn in college – it has to be learned in the field.

Other than writing, what drew me to journalism is its ability to put me outside of my comfort zone. For reasons I can’t put my fingers on, my least favorite part of writing a story is collecting interviews. I recall the feeling going back to being on the middle school newspaper staff.

Writing for the Star & Wave means a lot of interviews and speaking to people. I’ve always been used to it, but now I don’t think twice about phone call interviews and even ones in person. Journalism has pushed me to change.

In the year since I moved, I’ve gone from staying at my parents’ house, renting a room in a house with roommates and now I just signed a lease on my very own one bedroom duplex.

When I look back on the past year, I don’t recognize the person I was in the past because I have changed for the better. I feel completely lucky that I have been able to support myself by moving away from the only place I have lived my entire life and starting a career in the place I have always lived in my dreams.

I would not be where I am today without my family and friends.

Here’s to another year in Cape May, learning more about myself and journalism every day.

~Rachel