Tuesday,
As we try to write these blogs each night, we strive for perfection to impress the directors and advisors. The same applies for when we put together a newspaper, yearbook, or broadcast show. We try to impress our audience with big and intimidating words. As I learned Tuesday, it’s not about finding big words; it is about finding the right word. We focus too much on trying to look good, that we forget about the true quality in our work. If we all just take a step back and look at what we have instead of worrying about what people think, we could accomplish so much more and achieve so many things.
Friday,
We all came to this convention not knowing what to expect. I expected to have some guest speakers and classes, not nearly intense as it has been. Through some sick and twisted way these “teachers” have made us learn without knowing. When we come back for our debriefing, and group work, we have gained knowledge throughout the day and had no idea.
The newseum; definitely there to learn. I came back seeing how passionate people were about their jobs and how they made a difference.
The Smithsonian; same thing, we learned. We saw how they set up the displays and what makes people love museums and the exhibits.
The capitol; yes, I learned. That was a history lesson in the tour. It helped give us more background about our nation.
Even the little things like going to bed on time and getting up early or our fifteen minute breaks, I came into this conference as a sixteen year old girl going to a journalism conference to see if this was really what I wanted to pursue in life. I came out of it as a sixteen year old girl more responsible and mature and really ready to start life.
This experience might have only been a week long and some of you are probably thinking, “Wow, she’s crazy, how did she get all of that out of this one trip.” I really have learned and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve met amazing new people who I am sad to leave, but, this has been a great experience overall and I hope you got a lot from it too.
Monday,
So, at the newseum I saw how far people went to get a good story. My favorite display was the 9/11 exhibit. When the twin towers went down in 2001 I was in fourth grade, and I still lived in Brooklyn, New York. The pictures in the display showed so much the fading memories instantly came flooding back. One man wanted to get the intense pictures and would do anything for them. As the second tower was collapsing Bonnett kept getting closer and closer to the building…
A friend of his found his camera and found the amazing shots Bonnett captured before his death. His pictures were so captivating and showed the true emotion.
Another inspiring person was Nellie Bly. Bly was so set to be a female journalist that she would go to great lengths to be just that. She pretended to be in an mentally insane and went into an insane asylum to get the truth of what goes on there. She was treated so badly just to pursue her dreams. She stated that being in there any longer she would have gone insane. Her story taught me to set my goals and go for them, don’t give up.
Sunday,
After driving thirteen hours I feared that I wouldn’t have a good time here at the conference. Within the first four minutes of being here my roommate realized I was her roommate and greeted me with open arms, at that moment she introduced me to about six people who also had wide open arms; then rushed me upstairs to take “roomy pictures.” It was then that I knew I would like it here. I have yet to meet someone who isn’t friendly, even every member of the staff is friendly. Going some place new like this with people from all over the country; I expected to feel a little lost and timid. But, nobody would let me, (not that it’s a bad thing,)
The staff does not waste time here, straight after dinner we had our guest speaker who taught us to think about where journalism will be ten years from now, and where it is heading. I definitely can not wait for the upcoming days. And as I start to feel a little home sick I can already tell I am going to learn a lot and have loads of fun meeting new people that share the same interests as I do and also talk way too much like me.