Ava Nicols
Editor in Chief
If you had told my sophomore year self that my life is what it is now I would have thought you were kidding. Different interests, friends, attitude—I can thank Room 101 for much of this.
The first time I approached Mr. MacAvin was with a nervous smile, unsure of my abilities and looking for a place to belong, “I like to write, when can I start on La Vista?” He laughed. “The second you stop talking to me and you go out there [pointing to the quad] and find something good to write about.”
This was the first of many times I was humbled in the journalism room by Mac’s tough love. I quickly learned that confidence was crucial to my success on the newspaper and in life—I needed some serious work to say the least. But, my sensitive self learned to appreciate the rawness Mac taught with, because after all, “journalists should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
After dabbling in each section and writing stories on the events no one wanted to, being a staff writer got repetitive, respectfully. I started helping with the website and was pleasantly surprised at my efforts to write bigger stories and get more involved writing about the people at my school. Even then, I still never imagined a world where I could be in charge of the whole thing.
By my second semester, and with newfound confidence, I took my efforts outside of Mira Costa to an LA Times High School writing competition where I wrote a feature on an injured athlete and won first place. Validated beyond belief that I had finally found “my thing” after all, over the next summer my column, “Xoxo, Ava” was underway and I couldn’t have been more excited for a year of challenges as the Sports Editor in the coming fall. Let me tell you, there was no shortage of hardship during my junior year that is for sure, especially in La Vista.
Through my position, I stood on the sidelines watching and documenting others’ achievements. Unbeknownst to me, fostering these relationships with adults and students at my school was an accomplishment in itself too. I overloaded my schedule to accommodate my ambitious interests and found myself drowning with academic and editor responsibilities but I was grateful for every moment of it. My friends in La Vista were there for me and I realized that there was more than just a 16-page paper that bonded us.
Coincidentally, I lost and gained my best friends in the same few months at the end of junior year, and like all unexpected things, I never imagined something like this would happen. But, I was forced to evaluate what was most important to me and put myself first for the first time ever.
I learned the hard way that being accommodating and selfless is only productive to a certain extent, and people take advantage of kindness, no matter how many times you give them chances. La Vista gave me a home and sense of community while I was met with the biggest lesson I learned in all of high school: you have to fill your own cup first before you can fill others’.
This realization followed me into my role as Co-Editor-in-Chief my senior year with a counterpart that inspires me to be the best version of myself in every way like she is. Sofia is humble, eloquent, patient, authentic, and most importantly, compassionate. We led the class accordingly and seeing the progress and creativity among this group has made me fall in love with journalism all over again.
Met again with unforeseen circumstances, Mac, La Vista’s advisor of 20 years, passed away in December. Naturally, Sofia and I were devastated. He is heavily responsible for helping me understand “the power of journalism” as he liked to call it. I am eternally grateful for his encouragement to use my voice to stand out in an ever-changing world full of opportunities, both good and bad.
Mac always applauded me for my willingness to pursue the things I am passionate about and to say I am grateful for my time with the people and experiences in Room 102 is an understatement.
Throughout the college application process I proudly wrote about my high school efforts, especially those made in La Vista, but like everything else that happened during my time on the paper, the process was not linear either. Pushing myself to be vulnerable, something often seemingly impossible to do in a conventional high school experience, was daunting but really paid off in the end. As I head to USC Annenberg in a few months, I will take every opportunity to recreate a sense of community like the one I had in Room 101. I wish everyone the best of luck!
Xoxo,
Ava
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