Bye-Bye YAA: Lessons I Have Learned From Blogging

Goodbye, farvel, au revoir, 再见!

The past couple of weeks have been one farewell after another, and after delaying this one for as a long as I can, it’s time for me to say bye-bye to this wonderful community that so readily accepted a junior high girl back in 2014 when she decided to explore her interest in advocacy and writing by joining an online blog. My three years writing for Youth Are Awesome are now coming to a close as I leave Calgary for Toronto to begin my studies in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Toronto, and while this is a bittersweet moment, I wanted to leave YAA by reflecting on all the amazing lessons I have learned from blogging.

TAKE CHANCES

If I hadn’t taken my chance to be part of YAA by sending that email to express my interest, none of this would have been possible. None of the friendships, stories, journeys, and opportunities would have arisen for me, and the fact that I felt so comfortable after throwing myself out there to join reassured me that, when in doubt, take the chance. While I never really had a doubt that YAA would be a safe chance to take and that everyone would be friendly, that gave me the confidence to take the chances that came from it. From the chance to become a Junior Editor, to the chance of applying to be part of the Youth Week 2015 planning committee and the Mayor’s Youth Council, to having the opportunity to cover local events. YAA proved to me that taking chances is worth it.

CALGARY IS BEAUTIFUL

“There’s nothing to do in Calgary!” – Someone (definitely not a YAA blogger)

Above is a myth I used to think was true. Before YAA, I honestly believed that Chinook Centre and 17th Avenue were the only places in Calgary you could go for a fun time. My adventures on YAA have proven to me otherwise. I’ve come to realize that Calgary has so much to offer if you just pay attention. Our city is host to endless types of concerts, small businesses, historical districts you can visit, and tons of fun special events all year round. If you are looking for more to do, checking up on YAA’s event listings or following YYC-based accounts will open your eyes up to what is going on in our city!

SOFT SKILLS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS HARD SKILLS

When I became a blogger, I knew one thing: I could write. A pretty basic skill to have for someone looking to join a blogging team. However, it was a concrete skill that I knew I could utilize. Through getting special opportunities to interact with community entrepreneurs, attending special events, and exploring our city in scout of more topics to write about, I was able to develop many soft skills that I could only have picked up through the opportunities I got and by actually putting myself out there. Whether it’s professional skills, communication skills, networking, or just social etiquette in different situations, these soft skills have become useful to me in so many aspects of my life.

THE WORLD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR SCHOOL

When I joined YAA, all of my friends were either people I had met through my school, or family friends. I never fathomed that I could have friends from all corners of the city and beyond hailing from many different schools. However, YAA brought together a group of youth who were exactly that, and I would not have met any of them if it wasn’t for it. There was great joy in being able to see my friends at Model UN conferences or at volunteer projects, and being able to have connections with people in different schools. Some of these people have become my closest friends and I wouldn’t have given up the chance to meet them for the world.

CONNECTIONS ARE EVERYTHING

There’s an interview question that goes something like this: is it about what you know or who you know? If you had asked me this in Grade 8, I probably would have thought the answer was obvious and said the first option. After seeing the impact that the connections I made through YAA had on opening doors for me, I now know that who you know plays such a big part in what options will be available to you. You can gain a lot of cool chances by demonstrating your integrity and hard work to the right people. YAA gifts their bloggers with the opportunity to meet empowered youth and the chance to develop a professional network.

STOP, PAUSE, AND REFLECT!

When people ask me about why I like to write for a blog, my answer is always this: writing allows you to stop and really reflect on what is happening in your life; we all live such fast-paced lives that isn’t very forgiving to those who take their time, but self-reflection and learning about things outside of school is so beneficial to your personhood. Without YAA, I doubt that I would have taken the time out of my life to write about my thoughts, or to find out what’s going on in the city, or even to learn more about my favourite chick-flicks. Writing was the conduit to accessing my thoughts when I wasn’t going 100 miles per hour, and I definitely accredit it for allowing me to find out more about myself and also for acing some interviews.

DON’T BE CONFINED, BE CREATIVE, BE YOU!

One of the things that truly set YAA apart for me from writing on other platforms is how much freedom we are given as writers. It really does feel like you are writing for yourself. If I wanted to write a Buzzfeed-style post, I could do that. If I wanted to express my thoughts in an op-ed style article, I could do that too. Even during my tenure as the Arts & Culture editor, I was still encouraged to write about any subject I wanted to and that allowed me to explore so many different sides of who I am. YAA encouraged me to be creative and to be me, which is something that contributed to the next thing I learned:

ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR INTERESTS

The most important lesson I have taken away from high school is this: be genuine. This can mean being genuine in your actions and making sure you have the right intentions, or just being your true self no matter where you go. But for me, it has always been to be genuine in what you get involved in. In high school, I’ve had the good fortune to be able to meet so many extraordinary people who have accomplished amazing things, and are people that I admire greatly. But I have also encountered those who are accomplished, but clearly disconnected with the purpose of what they were doing, or were dishonest to others and themselves about what they were truly passionate about. When I started writing with YAA, I struggled with deciding which category I would write for, so instead, I just wrote about whatever I wanted. After a while, I began realizing that all of my posts were about arts & culture, and I jumped on the opportunity to become the Arts & Culture Junior Editor when that position opened up. By following my interests and being genuine in my actions, I actually ended up discovering more about who I am and what my true interests are. With that knowledge, I was able to involve myself in initiatives that reflected my love local culture, multiculturalism, and the arts — things that I continue to love and support and am sure I will no matter where I am in the future.

Youth Are Awesome was my very first contact with Youth Central — before I was a volunteer with the Youth Volunteer Corps, I was a blogger for YAA. Seeing how kind and helpful the staff were at Youth Central, in addition to the welcoming and friendly nature of all of the bloggers, I felt like Youth Central was truly a place where I could be myself. I was in awe of all of the opportunities YAA gave me, and all of the fun experiences and paths I have been inspired to take in my high school years can be attributed back to the lessons I earned from being part of YAA. The decision to join a group of 30-something youth all bonded together by a love of writing changed my life — and in ways I never would have imagined possible.

Interested in joining YAA? Email info@youthcentral.com for more information.