It’s been my goal to change the world since kindergarten. Yet, I’m sure almost everyone has the same aspiration of positively impacting the world and leaving behind a legacy. As I get closer to wearing my cap and gown, I realize I’m nowhere close to reaching my ultimate goal but I have made a small yet significant impact through journalism.

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Journalism, to simply put it, is a necessity to everyone in a free society. Investigative journalism can change entire government administrations as seen in Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s reporting of the Watergate scandal, can show refugees’ dangerous journeys and struggles to find host countries as seen in the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, and can showcase average people living life as seen in Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York.”

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Through my experience with CHS Wired, our school television show, I have discovered that although I’m one person, I have helped change and shape the way individuals view things. In our March 2016 show, I produced a feature on Coletta Kewitt. She has been making pies for her family and friends in the community of Cody for over ten years. This is one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever created, because she was an unknown Cody resident. My feature changed the way people viewed her. She wasn’t just the “Pie Lady” anymore, but instead a selfless community leader. My piece also spread her network of pie purchasers, and she now sells her pastries at various local restaurants.

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In our October 2016 show, I created a piece advertising the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Voice of Democracy essay contest. I interviewed a Cody High School senior who traveled to Washington D.C. and represented Wyoming at the national level. She proceeded to tell viewers her newly found friendships and long lasting memories she will always cherish. This story encouraged a staggering amount of high schoolers to write for the Voice of Democracy. Although my stories may seem insignificant at times, I always remember they are gradually changing the world around me.

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Small things people do for each other make small differences, and little by little our world changes. Although I didn’t change the world to the extent of Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, or Brandon Stanton, I changed the world for Coletta “Pie Lady” Kewitt and my local VFW Post. And, for me, that’s just the first step.