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.
No comments:
Post a Comment