Julia Tran, a Hall High School senior, is on her path of discovering what she truly loves to do. On this journey, she is excited to write articles for the Hall Record, hear opinions from the community around her, and as well as delve into topics she’s unfamiliar with.
Q: What are your pronouns?
A: She/her.
Q: Do you have any future goals or careers in mind?
A: I thought I was more into the sciences and math, but I realized that’s just how I was raised. My parents weren’t born here [U.S.A.] so when they came here they didn't have a lot of money. They pushed me to study things that have stable futures, like computer science and medicine. I was really focused on that early in high school until I started discovering other classes, such as financial literacy and graphic design. As of now, I feel like I’m experimenting with two worlds: STEM and liberal arts.
Q: Why did you decide to take journalism?
A: I really like the idea of interviewing people and hearing their opinions. Furthermore, I like the idea of practicing listening. As human beings we are naturally biased so we can’t remove our biases, but journalism encourages you to listen to other people.
Q: What kind of topics do you think you will tackle?
A: Currently, I’m not invested in politics, but I would like to do research [on it]. Journalism gives me the opportunity. Another topic I want to explore is fast fashion. I used to shop at stores like Forever 21, but then I thought "why am I bothering to buy twenty pieces of clothes when I’m going to throw them away later". We import a lot of clothes from third world countries. Some people view it as the workers being enslaved there. It's an interesting topic that I want to learn more about.
Q: What struggles do you think you will encounter in journalism?
A: Going with the flow. I struggle with it because I constantly overthink. Sometimes when I’m talking to people, I wonder if I'm really listening to them, or maybe my questions are rude or offensive. It's good to think before you speak, but there needs to be a balance with going with the flow and going with what you think is right to say in the moment. It’s ironic because going with the flow should be natural, and yet I want to work on it.
