Author bio:
Landon Block is the Opinion Editor at Mustang News. He spends his free time throwing frisbees and playing daily puzzle games.
Most of Mustang News’ staff are journalism majors. They spend every day for years learning how to source, write and edit to produce quality content. It shows up in the great work we do.
Not only am I not a journalism major, but I have never even taken a journalism class. I applied to be Opinion Editor on slightly more than a whim, and I nearly quit the summer before my work began. Thank goodness I ended up sticking it out, because it turned into one of the best decisions of my college experience.
Don’t get me wrong, I had some journalism experience before Mustang News. I had written exactly one article for my high school paper, a handful of op-eds for my hometown paper and applied to Mustang News once before (and was promptly rejected). And they say anybody is welcome to join Mustang News. Still, my experience was far from what some of my peers were doing (and certainly behind what other editors had on their resumes).
Despite putting on a confident show during my interview, I was overwhelmed with imposter syndrome. Surely I would mess up, fall behind or introduce some major error to the section.
I don’t think I’ve told anyone this, but I was close to declining the offer for Opinion Editor. I nearly jumped ship again when I received my first round of (rather harsh) edits from the Managing Editor at the time, Matthew Ho.
But something urged me to stick it out. Worst-case scenario, I’d get fired and end up in the same position. Lucky for me, I not only made it through one year but continued as Opinion Editor for a second wonderful year (#opinionated #twopeat). My work at Mustang News taught me how to think critically, uplift others and innovatively build something from nothing.
Over the last two years, the opinion section has flourished. We’ve published nearly 200 stories, launched a dedicated Instagram account, revived the satire section and helped share the perspectives of countless community members. Our content has helped fight for student interests, inform students on campus events and provide a platform for students to tell their own stories.
I would have been a fool to deprive myself of the opportunity to lead such an amazing team doing such impactful work. This opportunity has given me some of my best friends and favorite college memories I wouldn’t trade for the world.
As I think back on my last two years, I’m asking myself what my work as Opinion Editor has taught me. Sure, I could say it taught me AP style and how to use WordPress. Maybe I’d go as far as improving my leadership and collaboration. But, honestly, those are the side effects.
My work as Opinion Editor taught me to sort through the chaotic noise of college life to find the true signal of what people are feeling. I’ve learned to dig deeper into a story to find the one line that pulls people in. Most of all, I’ve realized just how much growth can come of putting myself in new, scary situations.
I’ll never know what doors would have opened for me if I had never joined Mustang News (or quit shortly thereafter). Maybe I could have found fame and fortune while avoiding the stress of an ever-changing news cycle. But I’m pretty happy with where I ended up.
My final opinion: go for it. Find something to put your all into and push through the fear that you might mess up. You also might hit it out of the park and have the best time ever doing it.
