A journey of the mind | Editorial

By Luca Pignatiello

This weekend, over 40 teenager set out to travel the world. Flying on bush planes, hooking their scuba gear to their duffel bags and settling in at a hotel across the world, Spring Street’s infamous May-Term Trips kicked off.

This year, four different trips were planned to take high schoolers out of the comfort of their home state, most of them reaching out of the country. This year, I chose to take on something I believe is harder than getting out and experiencing these May-Term trips. I chose to stay here, in Friday Harbor, and try to find an internship, to try find something I can do with I believe I am interested in, writing.

Internships at SSIS are often overlooked, and undervalued, moving aside for these fantastic and adventurous trips at the end of the year. So, instead of picking up my snorkel and goggles, why did I choose to take on my own challenge and pick up a pen and paper instead? Because I was inspired to write.

Just recently, my eyes were opened to opportunities I didn’t know existed, the world of journalism. Though I idolized the journalists and authors in the movies and books, I never actually thought I had what it took to produce something that people could read, however, this year, when I was pushed to write something longer for a project in creative writing class, the feedback was enough to help support the ideas running around in my head to finally be put on paper.

I had difficulty trying to find a place or person to intern with that fed the creative spark in me, but after a second look around, Heather Spaulding, the editor of the Journal, was recommended, and I jumped at the opportunity. With a little more than two weeks to spare, I set my mind on traveling the universe of something I love to do.

I know that there are only a few kids at Spring Street that are taking this three-week period to carry out internships, whether it be outside, in the field, or on the beach. Working under someone to observe what they do and how they operate is a way to figure out what you are interested in, especially going outside your comfort zone to complete the internships is something admirable, just as much as teaching kids in Guatemala and battling the cold in Alaska.

An internship is a window of opportunity, to work on something that actually can prepare you for the world outside, a glimpse into the actuality of life. Writing here at the Journal feels surreal, an experience that is such a big milestone in my life, especially because now I have to start thinking about what I want to study in college and delve into afterward.

All of the interns at our school are taking just as much of an adventure as those diving 60 feet under the ocean in Baja, Mexico, and taking the narrow mountainous paths in Nepal. These internships are an adventure that takes place in our minds, and the things we experience, can take hold of us and change our course of life.