Own It Or Leave It Alone by Ashley Southall
Own It Or Leave It Alone
My journalism experience here has taught me all the lessons I have wanted to know and many, many more that I had not anticipated. I’ve come to the conclusion that I will either own my medium or own my medium.
I have realized many things about myself in the course of one week. My threshold for direct human interaction ranges from 90 minutes with one or more colleagues to 72 hours with a loved one. I really enjoyed busting my [backside] to get around town to people who would not answer phones or return phone calls. I’ve missed an interview for another and I’ve been cancelled on at last minutes. Did I mention that I’ve had my first migraines in over a year? AGONY!
“That’s life,” our advisor says.
And it is. Only my story will tell it’s actual worth.
If I swore, I would swear that someone was out to get me. Since Tuesday, I have scheduled two or more for the next day. And each day, that number slowly approaches zero because of emergencies, no shows and faulty directions. Friday, I Capri Sun burst in my bag, destroying my clips, smudging my notes, pervading my laptop and stinking up my bag.
The fact remains that I am not to be defeated. During my undergraduate career, I have oft questioned whether or not I have the passion prerequisite to being a journalist. It is very clear now that my passion is a fire that burns high octane. If I did not think that the Ronald Madisons and the Terry Burtons and all the untreated mentally ill did not deserve a voice, I would have ditch the colleagues to gaze at the luxuries at the $hops at Canal and live it up at Harrah’s.
Ashley Southall is a junior journalism whispering sweet nothings in Portu-glish to her delicious crawfish. Seu exoskeleton é tão lindo, she says. Pode abrir?