I signed up to be a part of the yearbook staff my senior year of high school, and within the first two weeks, I became the Editor-in-Chief. While I learned many new skills and experienced many new situations (some good, some not so good), here are my personal top 5 things I learned as Editor-in-Chief:
How to Correct Errors in a Polite Way
As you are trying to put the book together, you want the pages to flow together seamlessly for readers. It really wouldn’t make for a good book if the pages containing junior year pictures were suddenly interrupted with the superlatives, would it? Probably not, unless your theme is “2019 Met Gala”. In any sense, you want the pages to be laid out in a certain order, the pictures to be sized in a certain way, and all the spelling to be correct. So, when your staff member decides that proper nouns no longer need to be capitalized or that pictures don’t have to be aligned and you have a deadline that week, you might feel like you’re just SO DONE. However, the yearbook is a team project. Unfortunately, you have to let them know that their work needs a little editing and revision in a way that doesn’t scream “if I was your actual boss I would fire you”. While these situations were really stressful at times, I had to realize that the other staff members were also just trying to get the book made, and more importantly, that everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes you just need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and politely tell them why they have to edit the page.
Quick Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
One thing you learn in any editing position is how easily things can go haywire. Every time there’s a deadline, it seems the chances something goes wrong somehow crawl up to a solid 98%. For example, the day my high school’s yearbooks were supposed to be released, there was a misprint on one of the pages; a photo that was part of the original draft of the page and was later removed somehow ended up on the final product. On first instinct, I wanted to scream, cry, and maybe throw up. However, our lovely yearbook representative printed 200 stickers of the correct picture and caption for us to cover the misprint with. Along with the rep and my yearbook advisor, we spent about two hours covering up all the misprints with stickers, and everything ended up a-okay. The world didn’t end, surprisingly. When things go south, you simply must think creatively and quickly, and most of the time, everything will work out (fingers crossed).
How to Manage Stress
One day during my senior year of high school, I suddenly got really sick. I’m talking fevers, chills, and headaches. I felt like I had been run over by a school bus; Regina George style. I tested for COVID twice but it was negative both times. I literally could not figure out what was wrong with me until I reflected on what I had been putting my body through in the past couple of weeks. I had been working around the clock, not sleeping, and not taking care of myself because I was too busy to. Obviously, this is not solely because of the yearbook, but it definitely was a factor. I realized then that I had to learn to manage my time better so I could allow myself to relax, eat, and sleep. It is so essential to take care of yourself both physically and mentally so that you can succeed. You can’t work hard if you’re completely worn out, so make sure to always leave time to recharge.
Dealing with Hate
Yearbooks can be a pretty big deal to students, especially the graduating class. The portraits, superlatives, and quotes can have other students itching to know what the status of the book is. Since everyone is featured in the yearbook, some people are going to be very, very concerned about what their page, quote, or picture will look like. Sometimes, they will disagree with the process or the layout of the page. In my time as Editor-in-Chief, I received many pieces of feedback from students, which frankly, were usually phrased in a less than polite way. There was a day where the staff and I sent out a survey so the senior class could vote on their favorite actors, teachers, school lunches, etc. Apparently, this was very controversial because the staff and I received some pretty nasty comments about it. I remember someone even posted about it on social media. Even though I was not even the one who created the survey, it felt very personal and I felt discouraged about all my hard work. Would people hate this book that I poured so many hours of my life into? I realized pretty quickly that it was unproductive to focus on what other people, who weren’t even on the yearbook staff, thought of the book. As my mom would say, you have to put your “hater blockers” on, which is a little bit silly, but mainly factual. Your work will always be criticized in your lifetime, and while it may hurt, you eventually have to learn to not take it to heart and appreciate the feedback.
How it Feels to Work on a Passion Project
Working on the yearbook quickly became one of my favorite parts of the day. I loved how it became a creative outlet for me, as well as a project that would benefit other people. I wanted the book to be perfect because so many people would see it, and because of that, I felt like I was working for a real purpose. It was also really exciting and refreshing to work on something that wasn’t going towards a grade. I loved working on the yearbook and I think that it really transformed my work ethic in a positive way. I learned so many lessons while also having so much fun. I was beyond proud when the book was released and I received way more positive feedback than anticipated. Yearbook was a great experience for me, and if anyone is reading this who is on yearbook staff or thinking of joining the yearbook, it’s definitely worth your time.