there's no "I" in team.

One thing that I've noticed about life is that we may have a tendency to feel jealousy or even contempt for those who are better than us.

I can remember harboring these feelings toward Berkeley High when I swam for my high school's swim team. My junior year, we were a tiny team of less than 20 swimmers, while Berkeley had a whole fleet of them. While some members of my team (including me) were swimming competitively for the first time in our lives, Berkeley had a number of experienced members. Basically, we didn't stand a chance of winning meets against them.

But could we really blame them for being at the level they were at? Maybe they had longer practices. Maybe they practiced more often. Maybe their swimmers pushed themselves harder. Having swimmers who probably swam for other leagues was also a possibility, and provided them with an advantage.

This can be applied to the college newspaper world as well.

The Advocate has an excellent reputation; it's been receiving recognition since before I was born. I am proud to be a part of the current staff, which is, as our adviser said, one of the strongest, most solid ones he's had in years. We have received praise from students, teachers and even professional organizations.

At various regional and state conventions, I have become aware that there are other schools who don't like us. The feeling is relatable- after all, I came from an underdog swim team.

However, I have little patience and tolerance for this negativity from others. Awards aren't given to us on a silver platter. Our staff wins awards because we WORK for them.
I can't begin to explain how much effort goes into every paper. We have an excellent editor-in-chief, who also receives recognition for his layouts. We have a superb copy editor, who ensures every last article is accurate and free of spelling and grammatical errors. One of our associate editors is a freelance sports writer. Several of us took journalism classes in high school. Like Berkeley High, we had natural advantages.

I think another key to our success is that we work together as a team. We have a solid staff of experienced, as well as inexperienced, writers. We help each other out when necessary and cheer for each other's successes- something else I recognize from my swimming days.


We are more than a staff- much more than a group of people who work together because we feel obliged to. We're family.


To be continued....?