Walking into my first beginning journalism class sophomore year, I thought to myself “how hard can this really be?” I quickly came to realize that it might be a bit tougher than I had expected. To write not only a good article, but a time relevant and community focused one as well was a skill I hadn’t been exposed to at the time. Although I learned much more than I had expected in that class, joining Verde Magazine as a staff writer second semester of my sophomore year taught me what it meant to be a real journalist. I learned how to write through experience, trial and error (and there were a lot of errors) shaping me into the writer I am today. Entering that beginning journalism class sophomore year, I would have never imagined that I could be the type of person that boldly goes up to strangers to ask for interviews, or that writes too much to even fit into a two page spread of a magazine. Writing in journalism requires patience, sacrifices, and, most of all, persistence. Even when an article seems completely lost, it’s always salvageable. Whether that means changing its angle, gathering new sources, or even scrapping it completely and starting from scratch, any article can turn out to be the best article you’ve ever written. Writing for Verde Magazine has forced me to face such challenges, some articles turning out to be the complete opposite of its initial idea. Yet, these experiences have taught me that no matter the issue, everything can be solved by simple problem solving skills and, most importantly, good writing. Lots of it.