People come from all over the country – the world, even – to attend the Missouri School of Journalism. For a lot of them, it’s a only thing that would have brought them to Missouri. It’s a fly0ver state. It’s the Midwest. The summer’s are humid. But then again, we also have a pretty good J-School. Go figure.
I grew up with the J-School. I remember taking walks through campus with my mother, learning about the archway statues and hearing about the impressive funding for the newly renovated Reynolds Journalism Institute. I had considered leaving Columbia for college and studying fashion design or journalism elsewhere, but none of it really made sense when what I needed was right in front of me.
I’ve always loved storytelling and think it’s the best reason to write – to be a record of the ordinary and the extraordinary and really understanding why we are the way we are. As much as I hate talking about myself, I’m always itching to hear someone else explain exactly why they do something or how they ended up where they are, or even where they want to go. It’s so interesting to let their stories unfold, and to be able to convey that passion or experience through whatever medium is an enormous responsibility but can yield great outcome. Journalists, writers, photographers, documentary filmmakers; we’re all storytellers.
This week in lecture, we heard about what to look forward to in the upcoming years as we move into our interest areas and dive into the field. Nearly two years in and I’m still excited to get to learn the about the resources and tools of the magazine world. Years ago, the goal started off as a dream to work for a glossy fashion magazine (think The Devil Wears Prada, or I’d probably even take Ugly Betty if it meant being a part of a major NYC fashion publication industry). And while my aspirations have changed and I can’t decide between journalism electives or describe where I see myself in 10 years and I’m simultaneously anticipating and dreading writing for the Missourian next fall, I know going into my interest area that, at least for right now, I’m in the right place.
In Focus 