Starting out

I have decided that I should post some sort of article as often as I can. This can be my thoughts, ideas, or reviews. This may be the start of a routine that may run into the ground or it might be a great idea that never takes off and still runs into the ground.

Today while discussing journalism with a classmate that happens to be the online editor of the college website, I picked up a copy of the school’s paper to better my understanding of the product college journalists (students) put out. The paper did entertain me and inform me for a few minutes. The particular classmate’s article was very good as it addressed the serious problem of the lack of attention campus clubs receive.

The lack of attention is actually not the worst problem. I attended the club fair early in the semester to see what all was offered. For a campus of approximately 10,000 there was a very narrow range of clubs to choose from. The choices were slim and recruiting power was very underwhelming, which is an understatement. In fact I happened across the Native American Student Association table, which was only a table covered in a Pendleton blanket, was not being run at all and was in danger of being vandalized by students who desperately needed to scribble on something. I took it upon myself and another lady, who left to go to a class for an hour and a half, to make sure that the club received proper representation.

After two hours of stewing I only gained eight signatures and nobody picked up any of the complimentary candy that had been set out. It was really sad. After leaving the table I browsed around the other club tables and I did not find the events to be particularly engaging. The big screen and Wii Sports set up wasn’t even being played on. The one table I was interested in chatting with, the gay/straight alliance, did not have anyone representing the club. Instead, they had a table, a poster, and a sheet of paper to collect e-mails. An alliance that seeks to strengthen and build relationships across orientation and taste does not inspire a lot of confidence when the party is absent.

This is what a newspaper should do. It should report and inform the public at large and engage the reader in discussion. It can be within the person’s mind that can inspire change or create a viewpoint. It can also lead to discussion with others that at best may lead to change. I picked a good day to start searching for other career choices.

At first glance, the road to an Engineer is riddled with complex subjects of mathematics and repetition that leads to a very fulfilling career. I really wanted myself to want this. I finally caved in when I came to the conclusion in my refresher Algebra course that doing math, that I do enjoy, would bore me to death on a daily basis. Apparently I have a knack for other things such as information and report writing. I’ve had this brought to my attention several times by other peers. At one point, when Myspace was the place to be, I maintained a blog that at any time of a posting I would have one thousand views. I reached one hundred and twenty articles before closing the account.

Journalism, at a glance, appears to be a lot tougher than Engineering. This really boils down to interpretation and the person itself. In this instance, an Engineer really loves detail and could write a one hundred page manual on how to operate a simple factory machine that would be operated on by a worker holding a high school diploma at best. Then there are people who can take this book of instructions and transforms the medium to a much simpler banter for the general audience.

I’ve taken into account that interactions with people, deadlines, hectic work environments, long irregular work hours come with the job. If it is something I enjoy I would not mind being apart of that particular work experience. All of my friends have moved far away from me and I have virtually no life outside of Academics. This could be something I could potentially be good at. Being available to pursue a hot, last minute, breaking story could really put you ahead of your peers in such a dog eat dog job.

This all came about from a twenty minute conversation with an editor of a college newspaper. When I have spoken with Engineers and faculty members, I had not had a similar experience. While I may not choose right away to go into journalism it does make myself rethink my career choice. Which is a shame because I just declared the pre-engineer major a few days ago.

Not bad for a first post. I plan on adding a bit of zing and zam to this with each post I plan ahead in. Something I have started doing on good and bad days on facebook is the “song of the day.” Which I try to maintain a wide variety of music. I am trying to keep this as close to impromptu as I can. If I start talking about one topic it may actually just be the warm up for the real topic at hand.

Here’s to hopefully one hundred more posts and an audience who likes to share in other people’s misadventures.