I Am the Blogosphere and So Can You!

The following is an essay I submitted for multiple journalism scholarships about ten minutes ago. They always ask the same questions -- why are you pursuing a media degree and what do you want to do with your sorry life since a media degree practically guarantees you a permanent address under a bridge in a cardboard box with a lovely Styrofoam foyer? So, I answered them the best way I knew how. "I'm stubborn and I don't know how to do anything else."

As a young girl, my diary was never a diary. It was a journal – not to be confused with any other synonyms that many assume hold the same connotation. The name “diary,” for me, invoked a sense of petty insignificance and a preteen outlet for bad poetry. My journal was never hidden beneath a pillowcase or locked away from the meddling hands of a younger sibling. It was simply left out for general viewing because, even during the age of rebellion, I simply didn’t think it practical to shield my commentary on the world from the world.  

Technology advanced, as did my tastes, and I relocated my musings to the Internet. LiveJournal, one of the first major blogging apparatuses to take off, provided a channel for me from awkward middle school years until the last entry during my first week at the University of Florida. Even with this change, my words remained available for public consumption.

Now as a freshman journalism student, these odd behaviors of my youth shed a light on who I’ve become as an adult. I am neither embarrassed nor ashamed of my desire to write, nor do I see keeping my words under lock and key as a sensible means of self-expression. I currently tweet, compose Facebook notes with increasing religiousness, have a news and personal blog and have begun yet another blog to document my recent foray into the world of improvisation and sketch comedy. I even have an internship as a food critic on a website that utilizes blogging to post restaurant reviews. To me, it is only natural to share opinions, thoughts and ideas with those around you – especially if they are interested in your words enough to read them in the first place. I decided to channel this through media and put them to a better, more refined use.

Ideally, I’d like to pursue reporting and perhaps have my own syndicated satire column. Spreading knowledge for the public shouldn’t be for personal reasons – it’s almost selfish to say that one wants to be a journalist to fulfill their own need to be heard, while simultaneously hypocritical to deny a sense of accomplishment from being read. In the end, I want to utilize my skills to their fullest potential in order to provide honest, dependable news and educated opinions to readers with a desire to be both informed and entertained. 

Too Small For My Britches

Interviewing someone you vaguely recognize from across a long table is something of an unsettling experience. You’ve seen each other every week for a better part of the semester without uttering a single word to one another, aside from maybe an “Excuse me,” or “Is that seat taken?”

Yet, here we were, thrust into each other’s company and forced to make something extraordinary out of something expected to be…well, ordinary.

Lab 7 gave the students of MMC 2100 a chance to interview one another in the hopes that we’d be able to spin our dull lives into something worthy of a personality profile. My victim — the innocent, amiable Wesley Rodriguez.

After shaking hands and exchanging standard chit-chat, we decided it’d be best to remove ourselves from the general hub of the class and relocated to a secluded bench on the second floor of Weimer.

Much deliberation and an awkward pause or two later, he decided to go first in the interview. As it turns out, we’re a bit more interesting a group than one would think. A Naples native, he’s apparently a top dog when it comes to being a Boy Scout.

Having garnered the title of “Eagle Scout,” he continues to collect merits and even participated in the 50-Miler, a treacherous journey that would make even the most seasoned mountain man blush. This kid really did enjoy the outdoors.

Better yet, he was practically a saint. His participation wasn’t about the badges, but the bonafide experience and morality he’s learned from being a Scout.

This left me feeling less than accomplished. I’m an improv comedian with very little to show for it thus far.

Sure, I spun it somehow to make myself out to be much more interesting than I actually am. “Yeah, I made one of the long-form troupes,” I said. “It’s the only audition-only aspect, so it’s very competitive and it’s really only the best of the best improvisers.”

But post-interview, I felt so small next to this guy I just met not even a half hour previously.

Those who can’t do teach. Those who can’t be written about write.

Media-crity

So here it begins — my foray into the big, bad world of journalism via Tumblr (note: my TA required we use Tumblr, so I'll be doing a repost right here for the entries that may be of interest). At first, I wasn’t particularly sure how to begin my series of media-related entries.

In all honesty, I’m still not exactly sure what I could discuss to make this remotely readable.

What did catch my attention was the focus on photography we’re taking in the class. Writing for Mass Communications gets to share the focus with imagery, which is nice. Since starting college, I’ve joined Theatre Strike Force (TSF), the premier improv and sketch comedy troupe on campus.

Having buddied up with the troupe historian, I’ve learned quite a bit about photography in a semester and a half.

Needless to say, getting to show that off did rather excite me. Nothing I have thus far is particularly relevant to the media, or anything we’ve discussed at all, but I’ll showcase some shots I’m particularly proud of.

In any case, I’m thinking how to relate this back to class. Reflecting on the guest speaker we recently had in lecture, many of the same tips are completely relevant from journalistic photography to the more casual work I do with TSF.

And on that note...here's some shots I've taken that struck me as kinda nifty.