Mya Smith: After many failed extracurriculars, Harbinger stuck due to its interdisciplinary nature

Ballet, theatre, basketball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and even cooking class. My dad insisted on my being involved in something, anything, throughout childhood. 

Each time I’d quit an extracurricular, I’d hear the same dreaded sentence my dad

hammered into my brain: “You have to do something, Mya.”

I lost my passion for ballet, even though I loved the stage, I was too scared of improv in acting class and all of my basketball teammates rolled their eyes at me every time I’d attempt to pick and roll.

Everyone around me had their thing. The soccer girls wore their Nike headbands in elementary school, the singers sang badly off tune in the after-school choir and the gymnasts of fourth grade would flex their handstands at any opportunity.

I burned with envy as I watched my peers excel in their activities, while every extracurricular my parents forced me to do left me feeling like an incompetent baby.

The only thing motivating 11-year-old me was my squishy and slime reviewing YouTube channel, “squishypoodlepuff.” It involved designing, video editing, a little bit of writing and finding ways to interact with media and my peers.

My squishy haul videos may have only had ten viewers and some atrocious editing, but consequently, it manifested my love for communicating stories through media that joining The Harbinger cultivated.

When I first followed The Harbinger freshman year on Instagram, I was fascinated. They had unique visuals and social media, stories from opinions to features.

It was perfect for me. For every extracurricular I participated in, the main problem was each one had an expiration date. After 2-3 months of interest, they'd become boring. But Harbinger was different  in the way that there was always something new to try. It was interdisciplinary.

Even though writing stories and designing became easier after some time, writing still required a new angle with each story, and every page design was unique to its own story.

I can’t say that I never got annoyed or bored with having to write or design sometimes, but The Harbinger always gave me something new. It became my outlet.

Whether it was writing opinions on beauty standards, reviewing a bagel shop or telling the interesting stories of my peers, The Harbinger always challenged me by throwing new tasks my way.

I learned how to write anything from features to editorials, created social media videos, designed pages and infographics, copyedited my peers and even learned a small amount of photography junior year for Photo Face Off — a photo competition that all staffers can participate in.

My peers around me were constantly brainstorming new ideas, and the way that The Harbinger operates has ebbed and flowed throughout my three years on staff. 

The multifaceted nature of Harbinger has come to be everything I could want in an extracurricular, and 11-year-old me would certainly be happy I carried on with my squishy channel in one way or the other.

2 responses to “Mya Smith: After many failed extracurriculars, Harbinger stuck due to its interdisciplinary nature”

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Author Spotlight

Mya Smith

Mya Smith
Starting her fourth semester on staff, senior Mya Smith is excited to continue her journey as Staff Writer, Page Designer and a member of the Editorial Board. When not frantically trying to fix her design in the j-room, she can be found working at Trader Joe's, driving around with her friends blasting music or trying a new caffeinated drink. »

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