My shadow experience at The Times and Democrat newspaper taught me about the real world of journalism.

While shadowing at The T&D, I learned that it takes hard work and dedication to be a journalist. Journalists also have to have patience because a story may take hours to write.

I realized that journalism is not an easy career but can be very rewarding. The effort that is put into getting the newspaper out to more than 17,000 people each day amazed me. The time and effort journalists, editors, photographers and designers put into the newspaper also inspired me.

Even though The Times and Democrat is not a national newspaper, the people here work just as hard to get the latest news to the residents of Orangeburg and surrounding communities. I would encourage anyone who wants to become a journalist to come to The T&D to shadow a journalist.

In the future, I plan to take as many journalism classes that are offered at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. I also want to attend Georgetown University and receive a bachelor's degree in print journalism.

I want to become a journalist for The Washington Post or New York Times. I know that it will take a lot of hard work to accomplish my future goals. My first step to achieving these goals is getting my education because I will not be able to become a journalist without it.

Aaron Greene is a 14-year-old ninth-grader at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. His visit to the T&D was part of his school's participation in a job shadowing initiative on Oct. 14.

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