You may have heard the theme song for the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place sing to you in your head. If not, that’s ok.

We make that reference because it has been the theme song of our lives this past week. 

Sometimes you tackle a project because you believe it has incredible potential. Sometimes the hard works pays off. But, sometimes, like in our case, it has to be laid to rest. 

We were made aware of a situation on campus that jazzed up our editors. We thought we had a breaking story. We planned out interviews with faculty and students on campus as well as sources from as far away as Texas.

The investigation led our sports writer, Mitch Carney, and managing editor, Cally Chisholm, on a wild goose chase across campus. We spent a majority of our week drowning in information.

In reality, the story would only dredge up unnecessary drama and we decided to kill the story. 

While for a few days it felt like we wasted our energies on a story that didn’t go anywhere, it turned into a lesson on what it means to be a journalist. 

We learned how to investigate. We learned how to adjust within a routine. 

For a lot of us, having a routine is the only way to live. It can be challenging for us to drop our standard assignments in order to work toward something greater. 

While it didn’t work out for us in the end, we stand by our decision to halt a story that had nowhere to go. It wouldn’t have accomplished any purpose.

It would’ve been nice if we could wave our magic wand like the Russos’ from Wizards of Waverly Place to find the background information for us, but we wouldn’t have learned anything from the experience.

The lesson is to appreciate the journey, and that is what our writers have learned this week, and we think it is something that everyone can apply to their life as well.