Marietta, Georgia, UNITED STATES – 2018 will be a year of transitions for me. I will transition from high school to a to-be-determined college. That transition will be exciting, but also challenging.
I hope the new opportunities will help me to grow both my passion for journalism and my character. This year, I will also transition from childhood into adulthood officially on my 18th birthday and unofficially when I leave home for college.
In February, volunteers with Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety visited the Georgia Capitol to lobby against the campus carry bill.
I hope to maintain connections with home and family, as well as to use my newfound independence to build a new home in an unfamiliar environment.
Beyond my own personal transitions, the United States government, including the Governor’s Office in my home state of Georgia and the Congress, will experience changes in power after the midterm elections in November. Over the course of 2017, I have watched my fellow Georgians and other American citizens unearth a new political fervor.
I hope that we do not become disillusioned with the political process, but instead remember that sentiment and work to form a more perfect union in 2018.
While I do not think any of these transitions will be smooth, I hope they will successfully create a 2018 I can be proud of.
Madeleine Deisen is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
