Sharing what got me into the HHJ ahead of a huge milestone

As of October 2025, I have written nearly 1,000 articles, and I’d love to share the one that started it all. 

This week, I found myself in a reflective mood as I reminisced about starting my journey at the Houston Home Journal. It was my second job in the media, and I was both terrified and excited to return. After being out of the game for several months, I felt a bit rusty and wanted to write a sample story to send to Will Oliver, the managing editor at the time.

Without the connections I have now for gathering information, I had two options: I could either write based on a news report, which would have looked somewhat unprofessional, or I could interview someone and write a story. I ultimately chose the latter and who better to write about than someone I knew well: myself?

Will had told me when I was hired that my writing was clean and readable. In journalism, that is high praise and something I believe set me apart during the application process. 

What baffles me is the fact that I thought this was actually good when I sent it in. Nearly four years of writing have led to so much improvement.

So, without further ado, here is what I sent him. 

From clumsy kid to future columnist

Brieanna Romero’s day starts the same as most of ours. As an early riser, she wakes up, grabs a cup of coffee — probably two or three if she’s being honest with herself — and then stumbles into the living room to catch up on Netflix shows before she prepares for her day job as a writer at the Houston Home Journal.

She graduated from college with a Mass Communication degree back in Colorado, long before she made the jump to the Peach State. After she moved, she worked at a place where someone who studied journalism might not be: a vape shop.

Why did she choose a vape shop? For Romero, it’s something she was passionate about. 

“I know it’s not the healthiest thing to do,” she said, “but it helped me quit smoking in the middle of a pandemic, and I was honored to help others kick the habit.” 

Romero worked at Stormy’s Vapor Cellar, and she predicts that during her seven-month tenure, she helped over 25 people make the switch to vaping. She wasn’t only there to sell juice and coils; she truly cared about her customers and wanted to see them succeed. 

She brings that caring nature to her home life as well, supporting her boyfriend with his ambition to become a psychologist. Romero also befriended her boyfriend’s family, attends church services and women’s fellowships, and is really proud of the relationships made with her community and within the vaping industry.

Romero’s not just a vaping fiend either; she is an artist — a songwriter and painter — although she admitted she was not very skilled. They’re still in the hobby phases for her, but she eventually sees her work at open mic nights and in galleries all across Middle Georgia. 

She can see the future clearly and has no problem putting in the work to grow creatively and make art that inspires and makes people happy. On the outside, she seems content with her life path, but still waters run deep, and Romero described herself as a deep well of ambition. 

Something in her always looks for next steps, which could be as small as a new TikTok trend she wants to try, or as significant as life-changing decisions, like moving to Georgia. 

She moved to Fort Valley in 2021 with her boyfriend, intending to use the town as a stepping-stone on her way to Pensacola, Florida. But plans change, and she now sees Georgia in her future.

The move wasn’t easy for her. Romero grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, a city 2,000 miles away from the East Coast, practically in Utah, she joked. She grew up as an awkward kid, self-diagnosed with social anxiety. 

Growing up, creative writing was her best subject. As a child, she had the honor of being a published writer; a poem about her love of music was included in a student anthology.

“I figured since I couldn’t talk to people, I would write how I was feeling instead,” she said.

Romero’s love of writing pushed her in high school to study filmmaking, but she admitted her teacher disagreed with her ideas. She almost failed the class and was discouraged from pursuing writing ever again. 

Despite her failure, the class sparked in her the idea to go into media studies. She originally wanted to work in radio, but her filmmaking teacher also discouraged her, saying that radio was dying.

Still, she declared Mass Communication her major the first day she set foot onto Colorado Mesa University’s campus. In college, she experienced her biggest personal growth, which led to her love for media and journalism.

Romero wore many hats in college. Radio was the last thing she wanted to do, but she studied public relations, advertising, marketing, broadcasting, graphic design, photography, videography, studio art, acting, and, of course, journalism. 

After she passed her intro to journalism class and made it into the Mass Communication program, she became intensely encouraged, and almost immediately started working for the campus television station as a content producer, then for the student magazine as a graphic designer, then later as an art director.

As part of the team, Romero learned the skills needed to succeed in the media field and noticed something unusual that didn’t happen much in high school.

“Remember, I was a socially awkward kid,” she reflected, “But in college, I became a leader.” 

This was something she thought she could never do growing up. 

“I was pretty easygoing,” Romero said. “I mean, I still am, but it was strange. Once I figured out what I was doing, people started seeing me as a guru. I had people asking me for help when the professors were busy. The same thing happened to me at KREX.”

KREX is one of Grand Junction’s local news stations. Romero worked there for almost four years, starting as a camerawoman and working her way up to assistant producer. The same guru status she had in college became a part of her identity at the station. 

“I had anchors and reporters asking me how to do things in the software,” Romero said. “I became obsessed with learning about how to be the best producer I can be. I guess that energy pushed others to do the same.” 

She hopes to channel that same energy into her aspirations of becoming a full-fledged journalist. Ultimately, she envisions living in a big city, writing for a major publication or a corporate news station. Or she may choose to share her passion for journalism by becoming a journalism teacher.

Romero said, “At the end of the day, I just want to tell amazing stories, whether that be with pen and paper or a video camera. I want to inform people. I want to inspire people. And that’s what I intend to do.”