Beginning my undergraduate journalism degree came with many fears, (tears), doubts and anxieties. Now, there are still worries and uneasiness, but there's also passion, purpose and ambition.
I started my journalism undergraduate very scared and unsure. Yes, I love writing, but would my love of writing be enough to overcome my extreme shyness and introversion? The answer is... meh, kind of.
The first year of my journalism school was entirely focused on news stories. That means simple writing, extremely tight deadlines, interviews, Canadian Press (CP) style and stories/topics that are VERY timely. As a very shy person, I thought the main thing I'd have to worry about was the interviews, but there was everything else!
I had/have trouble coming up with timely news stories that I'm interested in, and I would have to try and wriggle my story idea into a timely aspect.
Then, there was the 36-hour deadline! Three or more interviews, writing a story, and other school work (because sources don't have the same schedule as you) were very stress-inducing. Also, hearing about my classmates' catastrophes didn't help my nerves either.
Then, there was also learning that sources don't always respond or follow your deadline. It can take days and sometimes weeks for people to respond to my interview requests and even longer to set up an interview.
This process contained so much stress that I started to worry about the projects weeks before they were even assigned! Not to mention that the entire year was dedicated to it.
The weird part was that I loved writing the stories but not everything before. After doing all my interviews, I had the thrill of putting a story together, trying to find the right words, picking the right quotations, putting them into order, etc. I would sit down and write for about four hours - I like to think of it as an adrenaline rush! I just couldn't stop! It's like I word-vomited all the interviews I had hours before into a 600-word news story. Nevertheless, I still *hated* it, and stressed about writing news stories all year. I didn't particularly feel very hopeful when all my professors said things like "when you're in a newsroom..." instead of "if you work in a newsroom..." I (and some like-minded friends) felt hopeless and questioned whether we were in the right program or if we would even find a job someday.
However, at the end of learning the journalistic fundamentals, we started to learn about other mediums. Video reporting, graphic design and even audio reporting suit my interests and goals better. I pushed myself to join as many campus outlets and clubs that would take me to practice the skills I enjoy. I'm a graphic designer, content creator, radio show host and web designer now! I've even created my own independent podcast and am a co-creator of another one with my friends! Getting to develop my skills and practice storytelling in the mediums I enjoy has made me so much more excited about school and journalism in general. Although it can be stressful, I don't seem to mind because I enjoy it so much. I even chose to incorporate journalism in some of my other classes - which I never thought I'd do. I think it's safe to say I'm in the right place!
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