I can’t go through a journalism class without mentioning this newspaper. It’s changed my life. So how can I not go on about it? There have been moments throughout the past two years that I’ve been a part of this news organization where I’ve wondered: where the hell would I be without TNH? Answer: Nowhere.

I remember my parents being worried about how I’d end up at UNH. Not in disappointment, but more in the fact that my first year I’d tried out the business school to great peril and with no direction in front of me.

While the classes contributed greatly to my intellectual endeavors, I was gaining little world experience. It was easy to stay the introverted, shy and socially anxious person that had come to UNH. That’s when, after the direction from my mom, I went to a TNH meeting. After weeks of stalling and mulling over all the terrible scenarios that most anxiety prone people go through, I just said screw it, I’m going to a meeting.

I had no idea what I was doing after that first meeting. I had to go cover some event put on by SEAC. What the hell is SEAC? How do I write a news article? Am I going to have a panic attack? What questions do I ask these people I’ve never met? Will they think I am crazy? I sure did.

Nonetheless, I went to the bottom floor of the MUB, there were roughly 40 students there, and I was bumbling around with a camera that wouldn’t work. Not the greatest scenario for someone like me, but, these distractions and worries soon faded as I began to interact with the people there. I became fascinated in what they had to say and who I was turning into: a journalist.

I am a news junkie. Most people, are probably annoyed with how much I post on Facebook about drone strikes and corruption on Wall Street. I can’t help it at this point. It’s ingrained in who I am as a human being. This force of curiosity and wonder which has been harvested after years of reading, writing and discovering about everything from my hero Noam Chomsky to the degradation of our climate. This journey as a journalist and student has brought me joy, wonder and excitement, but it’s also revealed a deeper part of myself to the world and to myself: I care greatly for the goings on in this country and around the world.

As a journalist, this is a must. Journalists need a great well of empathy if they are to continue down this career path. It is dark and foreboding, the tremendous evil that we are pitted against as storytellers, but the fight nonetheless must go on. It is for that reason our profession, mostly besmirched and condescended upon, is among the greatest (when done right). We are the watchers on the wall (copyright “Game of Thrones”). We protect democracy from the wave of fascism and brutality it sees under a corporate led state.

TNH and other university newspapers across the country are the breeding grounds for this shield for democracy. This is where we learn about ledes and AP style, but also where we get that almost drug like rush to learn more about what is going on wherever we are.

I don’t know how this incredible editorial team keeps producing such stellar work every week, but I am so proud to be a part of this organization. If you are a wanderer, a searcher, a dreamer, or perhaps a decent writer, drop by the newsroom some night. You’ll find a soulful and welcoming crowd where people really care about each other, the craft and this great paper we call The New Hampshire.