Be Frank

possession is nine tenths of the law

2009-06-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

What drives you? What essence pulls you through the days that always appear the darkest? What is your motivation?

As a writer, it should be assumed that I would know the answer to my own questions. As a writer, I should have some muse or outlet of inspiration. The only problem—I haven’t the foggiest idea what that is.

Perhaps, without a muse, I am simply a girl with access to a keyboard.

There are people out there all the time who think they are something simply because they possess or have access to a tool that provides the essence of that something they think they are.

For instance, a man could own a camera and take a few family photographs and truly believe himself to be a photographer. And at the end of the day, the only question remains, what differentiates him from any other photographer?

That same adage could be applied to athletics. A man could own a basketball, install a net and then proclaim himself to be a basketball player. He could be 5’2” and never be able to touch the rim and miss 98 percent of every shot he throws, but he is out there. He is attempting to dribble the ball and make a basket. Who is to tell that man he is not a basketball player? You don’t always have to be Shack or Michael, do you?

But in today’s world, to be anything you must be the best. You cannot add the “ist” or “er” or “ian” to an activity if you simply attempt.

Just because I can play the bassoon, doesn’t make me a bassoonist. I lack the theory behind the music to be a musician.

I can shoot a basket better than the man described above, but no one is asking me to sign up for the WNBA or inviting me to join their school’s team. No one is calling me a basketball player. I am simply a girl who can dribble a ball and sometimes make a basket.

The thing that differentiates that man who owns a camera and the society proclaimed photographer is not a college education. It is a passion. An element of art that transcends through his photography that only he can capture.

Michael is basketball player not because he stands a few feet taller than the average Joe, but because he has a drive and a passion.

No one can touch the magic Mozart created, but often people try. People want to be something great. To feel that passion in their own hearts and minds and souls.

So they think because they possess a tool, it defines who they are. Passion has become confused and entangled with the simplicity of possession.

Perhaps the constant misuse of vocabulary is the reason behind the lack of Picasso’s and Mozart’s and Michael’s in the world.

Perhaps I have truly become a member of society and have confused possession and passion. Perhaps I am no more a writer than I am a basketball player.

Maybe at the end of the day, I am just like that man who owns a camera or that man who owns a ball. I am simply a girl who owns a tool hoping that someday it could define who I am.

Teacher Crush

2009-04-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am not an active dater. I don’t go out of my way to lore guys in. On most days, I don’t even try.

But there is something hot about a successful man. A man who has all his ducks in a row and appears genuinely happy and satisfied with life.

For a little while now, the subject of teacher crushes has come to mind. Everyone at one time has seen or had a teacher who is more than pleasing to the eye—Now it is just if people are willing to admit it is a different story completely.

Sometimes he is the hot or cute teacher you and your friends call “Dr. Cutie” when his back is turned. But sometimes he is a little more.

Sometimes he is a man who treats you as a peer and as an adult. He is the man you can hold real conversations with. No awkward pauses, no discomfort, just a genuinely good conversation.

The thing about teacher crushes…the attraction isn’t necessarily lust. It is a completely different type of attraction than you would typically have. The attraction is not necessarily centered on the person as a whole but rather what the person represents.

Not necessarily the romantic “F” word, but everything else it entails.

The FUTURE is a scary word and idea. It is completely nerve-wracking.

But when you sit across from that teacher crush, the “F” word does not seem so scary.

Conversing with a confidant, successful man who is passionate about what he does and who he is very comforting. It makes tomorrow less intimidating.

For that one brief moment, you can almost see yourself in the future with a different man having a similar conversation. In the back of your mind you can see yourself past classes and exams and projects. For just a moment while you are engaged with conversation you like who are and who you might become.

just a test

2009-04-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

(Just trying to see if this will work to do analytics for my blog)

Who is John Galt?

2009-03-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am staring at the blank page before me wishing with all my heart I could find the words to say to prove my point. Defend my case. But I can’t.

All I can do is sit and think of how much I have failed.

There is always a better way to do things, and it seems like I keep missing that path along the journey. I have always been the kid to take the hard road, and it is starting to bite me in the ass.

I am reminded daily how I have failed, and sometimes you just get tired of being told you suck.

I don’t know what to say or do to make it better anymore. The lack of control over the situation is eating me away. I can’t sleep. I am hardly hungry. All I want to do is find the answers to a question that cannot be answered.

Tomorrow I turn in my application for the EIC position, and all I can think is what if I am not good enough. All I see are the flaws, and I wish with all my heart I could look past that.

I have strived to find the “purple lining” throughout the past two years, but I think all I managed to do is join a race.

The destination: unknown. The speed: unstoppable.

In a world where everyone seems to be rock stars, super heroes, Pulitzer Prize winners and Mozarts, it is hard to be strong. It is hard to not bend when the wind grows strong, and it is even harder to not collapse when the world resides on your shoulders.

At the end of the day, the only question left to ask is,

“Who is John Galt?”

Leadership

2009-03-23T11:42:00.001-07:00

Ha. The role of leader is one usually underestimated.

So many times people jump into the position with the hopes of making something better, being a part of something bigger or maybe leading a group of people into tomorrow.

The realism of what the title entails is usually forgotten in the whoo-ha, but let it not be forgotten.

So many times as a leader you aren't the one who will receive the praises of your work, but beware. You are the one who will face all the consequences.

When something bad happens either internally or externally, you are the one the room looks to. You are the one who should have all the answers.

I just feel sorry for the son of a b who can't answer them.

Food for Thought

2009-03-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

There are things in this world I can let pass without throwing a huge fit.

I have gotten used to the fact that Vics/Iberville/Grill 151 will either deep fry my veggie burgers or choose to cook them in the gross, nasty beef fat/grease.

I have gotten used to the fact that the only vegetarian options available with Sodexho are veggie burgers (and we just learned how vegetarian they can be), meatless pasta and cheese sandwiches.

I have even gotten used to the fact most the employees insist on charging me extra even though the only thing that is on my pasta is sauce and whatever veggies they might have or the only thing on my sandwich is cheese, a piece of lettuce, maybe a pickle and maybe a tomato.

There are some things you just cannot fix. That I have gotten used to.

What I cannot get used to is the C-Store charging me 3 dollars for a little thing of cookies that expired a month ago. Or the fact that the C-Store sells me wilted salad for 5 bucks. Or the fact that Vics sells old scones for the same price as the fresh ones. Or that even after I told them, Sodexho continued to sell expired, by at least a few months, Coca-Cola.

I expect better from our food providers and our campus.

But sometimes there are things in the world you can fix and then other times you just learn a lesson.

Lesson for this week--Learn to read the expiration date on EVERYTHING and question when things were made before purchasing.

Crowned Beauty

2009-02-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

There appeared to be some disputes about my column this week, and it got me to ponder--maybe people just don't understand.

In no way do I have any lack of respect for anyone who wears a crown (or bracelet). They went through hell and back to wear it--and some paid a pretty penny.

I don't have a problem with beauty queens, I have a problem with the society that encourages women to change themselves to become one.

It takes a phenomenal woman to participate in a beauty pageant, and I am not a phenomenal woman.

I don't have what it takes to fit society's mold, I never have, nor do I desire what it takes.

I have no hurt feelings about the pageant. At the end of the day, she is a woman who wears a bracelet and hopefully does good things.

A woman's beauty is not exclusive. It is not simply her looks or her mind.

A woman is not a disgrace if she is not a size 4 or 0 or whatever the PC terminology might be. Just because a girl isn't the skinniest does not make her unhealthy or nasty or irresponsible.

If the essence of a beauty pageant is a game, then why play? And just because something is a tradition does not mean that it is good. There are lists of occurrences throughout history where tradition didn't prove to be the best idea.

A beauty queen can be a beauty queen without playing someone else's game.

Women shouldn't look toward a panel of judges to find the beauty they posses or to receive acknowledgement for it.

And this formula is not good, and it is shocking that someone's grandmother could compete for the LOB title 60 years ago when it is only 50 years old.

As far as a woman being looked down on for receiving a crown, perhaps they should evaluate the steps taken to receive the crown. Perhaps it is not the individual that is being looked down on, but the path she took to get where she is.

No one at the pageant was 150 pounds overweight and extra weight does not qualify anyone for anything other than maybe some lifestyle changes.

That's all I can say for now. Please enlighten me if there is any other clarification needed.

waiting

2009-01-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

I have spent the past few weeks slaving over my column. What should I write? What message do I want my readers to receive? How do I want to attempt to perhaps impact their lives?

For the past few weeks I have contemplated endlessly the words to say to start the year right. The best foot to begin the semester. A way to attempt to create a legacy.

The thing about writing, while you might be familiar with the dictionary, it isn’t that easy creating sentences and paragraphs.

Many people have attempted to tell me to just sit down and write. The venture is made. But is it?

I am 22 years old and don’t know what I want out of life. I spent the last semester waltzing through my classes while I watched my peers sweat, struggle and lose sleep.

As editor of a publication, it would be assumed that my life be overwhelmed with endless responsibility and stress. For the exception of a few additional lost nights of sleep, it has felt like any other semester.

I don’t know what I want from life. I don’t know what I am doing in Natchitoches, La., but for some reason I am still here waiting for the answers.

Please allow me to clarify one thought. I don’t sit still for anything. Me waiting is not a simple process, and it often includes a journey of my own.

While waiting to find my place in life, I have successfully thrown myself into everything: the bassoon, the conta, the Potpourri, The Current Sauce, PRAL, Catechism, classes and now a beauty pageant.

I am not a beauty queen. I am the farthest thing from the stereotypical beauty. I don’t wear crowns or practice poise. I don’t spend hours in front of a mirror in attempts to look just perfect for my 8 a.m. class. I don’t say the right things or even try half the time.

I am who I am.

That’s not a lady, or someone deserving of a crown or bracelet.

But here I am. Waiting.

Waiting to find my place in the world and testing every avenue in which to discover it.

The ball dropped in New York, and millions of people slaved in deciding what resolution they needed to make to perfect themselves and their lives.

Fire works shot off and the eyes of children lit up at the glory and the excitement of surpassing their bedtimes and welcoming the new year.

Loved ones kissed. Friends clanged their glasses together as they indulged in a New Year’s shot.

The world celebrated another new year. Thanked whomever that they survived the old. And crossed their toes that they could surpass the new.

All around people know what they want. All around people are thankful for the blessings that have come their way.

All around me, people know their place in the world.

While I wish I could say it was comforting or encouraging, it isn’t. In actuality, it is the contrary. It is discouraging.

This new year I have no resolutions. I still have no clue about the message my column should send, and I am in the same place I was last year. Waiting.

Free Falling

2008-11-27T23:46:00.000-08:00

It is funny. It would be imagined that at this point in my life I would be searching for the perfect man to settle down with and have the perfect life, but I am not.

I do not join my siblings or classmates in the search for a soulmate, rather I run the opposite direction. Someone speaks of wedding bells or commitment, I freak. I run away. I throw in the towel.

While some girls ponder their perfect wedding and spend hours selecting colors and dresses and potential baby names, I create a "before I get married list,"

I don't know what I want from life, but I know what I want to do. Everything.

I want to see, taste, feel, hear and smell the world.

I want to milk a cow, ride a mechanical bull, skydive, climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, learn to drive, buy a car, see the seven wonders, waterski, jet ski, skinny dip, have coffee in the Alps, taste a snowflake, dance in the rain, ride a motorbike, "surf" a crowd, go to a concert at the park, ride in a hot air ballon, go white-water rafting, pet a penguin, see Niagara Falls, try caviar, go to a sushi bar, see the Macy's parade in person, be at Times Square when the ball drops at Midnight, go ballroom dancing, take dance classes, sleep under the stars.

Oh how the list continues.

I want to live and take chances.

I want to experience all the magnificent blessings and glories life has to offer.

I want to run when they say walk and simply have a ball.

I am not ready to be a wife or a mother. I don't know if I will ever be. Until then, I look forward to adding insane items to my "to-do" list.

Until then, I will experience life and rejoice in everything is has to offer.

Bis Dann KC (Saturday)

2008-11-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

It is sad to say that our trip has reached its conclusion. We were able to attend a few sessions before we hit the road, which was great.

I cannot be explained in a blog or in a sentence the amazingness that came from Kansas City. The memories and information learned will be difficult to forget, and hopefully it has all enabled me to become a better leader, editor and writer.

9 a.m.: Storytelling

You know when you are a good photographer when your photo moves the viewer. You know when you are a good writer when the reader never wants to stop. You know when you have a good team when a photograph and story make a reader cry.

I stared my Saturday in tears.

Everyone is a storyteller. Everyone has a story to tell. As a yearbook, with a combination of phenomenal photography and stellar writing, we can touch the hearts of the student body.

There are four levels of writing. Level 1 involves informational type images. Level 2 includes graphically appealing images. Level 3 has emotionally appealing images and the writer and photographer have become one with the subject. Level 4 is complete trust with the subject.

The lady showed us some pictures from a news story.

The first was of a plane. You could see the passengers doing their thing and looking out the windows. Below, were soldiers pulling out one of their fallen men. This picture showed how disconnected we, as a nation, are from the war until it hits us. The lady spoke of how no one on the flight knew they were flying with a dead marine until they were asked to wait before they exited the plane so the men could escort the coffin. The picture tugged at your heart. I couldn’t explain it; it was just a force.

The lady then showed us a photo of a woman clutching a soldier, and she was screaming and in tears. That marine was her husband. She was the widow with an unborn child. The lady spoke of how the journalists went to her house ahead of time to see if they could tell her husband’s story. Reluctant at first, she agreed, and the reporters became part of her life. The lady told us how that’s how we should report. We should become part of our subject’s lives in order to help report it.

She then continued to the final picture.

It was of the women, a marine and her husband. She was laying on an air mattress with her husband’s coffin behind her guarded by a marine with her laptop in front of her playing their favorite songs. It was the night before the funeral, and she had asked if she and her baby could spend one last night with her husband. The marines were there to look over her husband, and she listened. I cried.

The lady then said that during the night, the woman looked up at the guards and asked, “Are my reporters still here?”

That is good reporting. That is trust. That is getting to know the subject.

A yearbook should include all levels of reporting in order to be amazing. It is impossible to cover every aspect of campus life using level 4, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be covered.

Writing should include all 5 senses’, and it should put you in the book. It’s ok if Tom wasn’t in the yearbook, because if we did our job, he would be able to relate to someone who is.

As writers and reporters, we should think of all unanswered questions and answer them. We should think outside the box and through all angles to get a story.

Headlines should include a powerful word at either the end or the beginning. They should become part of the artwork and unique. They should tell a story.

Instead of focusing on the entire pie, a writer should pick one piece and dwell in its scrumptiousness.

Writers should think of “call-out quotes” to use in the spread. They might not fit perfectly in the story, but they apply to the publication and spread.

10 a.m.: 10 Steps to Feature Writing

A feature is journalism art that entertains and informs.

A journalist should fin an angle and think of new ways to cover annual events. Things can become monotonous, but if approached from a different angle they could be slightly cool.

Vary your sources. Combine primary, secondary and expert sources. They won’t always be used in the story, but they could help give some background information on the subject.

Have a productive interview. Learn about the subject before you walk in. Develop good questions. Pay attention to the location, and try to do it where they are most comfortable. Be observant; look around their office when they walk out of the room etc. Tape-record all feature stories. You never know the importance of conversation, and you don’t want to miss a killer quote. Master the art of conversation.

Plan everything out. If you have time, type your notes. Look over them and get familiar. Create an outline and look for holes in your story. Write a thesis statement. What do you want your story to say?

The lead. Identify what you remembered the most from your interviews. Don’t get suckered into the same leads repeatedly. Above all, capture the reader. A story isn’t any good if no one will read past the first line.

The body needs to have a nut graph or bridge close to the beginning to help tie the reader in. Readers need a path to follow, and it is the writer’s responsibility to create it. Transitions are your friend. Use them.

Write a quote that only that source would say to help bring the reader into the story more. Use anecdotes.

Conclusions are essential. Make the reader remember what you write. Use a STRONG quote, provide a final observation, bring the reader back to the beginning. Let the reader leave satisfied.

Include sidebar material for a spread. Not everything can be included in a story, and you don’t want everything included in a story. Seek inspiration from other publications. There are amazing people out there doing amazing things. Let them inspire you. Get a second opinion after you write. Look for ways to be better. Never think you are the best.

11:30 a.m.: Story Ideas

This lady is amazing. That is all I have to say. She gave us a power point of lists of story topics. All I can really say is she is inspirational, and I adored all of her sessions.

Story ideas are different from topics.

Get the school’s budget from the library. They have a copy on file, and it is public record.

Go look to the alumni office and get a list of amazing people on campus or who have graduated.

“We are covering the college community in a way that no one else can.”

She provided so many different ideas that would take up pages and pages of a blog. I have lists for my staff, and I am so excited to implement them this year and years to follow.

Kansas City Says the Darndest Things (Friday)

2008-10-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who might not know, after last night, I have decided that if I do decide to get married it will be to a musician. We went to this Irish Pub last night, where not only did I taste my first Shirley Temple, but there was an Irishman playing a fiddle. He was very cute with an amazing accent, and he knew how to play the fiddle.

So, sadly this has nothing to do with my sessions today, I just felt that I should share that with the reader.

This morning I had a rough start. I kinda wanted to attend this First Amendment Breakfast at 8, and if the reader knows me at all then you know it is a difficult feat for me to attain.

Well, I wake up, but no one else does. So what do I decide to do? I go back to bed. See, the problem is…I don’t like breakfast and I don’t like to eat in public alone. So, it made sense to me.

Well, I get up about an hour later and get ready for my next session—of course I am running late. So, I leave coffee-less and run through the hotel. I was so happy when I almost ran into a bellhop carrying a tray of pastries. He looks at me and goes, “Want one? They are for you guys.”

What a great way to start the day! Free breakfast after all!

9 a.m.: Professional Design Ideas

“Sometimes you have to kill your babies.”—oh yes, the speaker truly spoke those infamous words.

Nothing kills a great idea like a crappy layout, and sometimes you need move past your first amazing great idea to find the perfect one. There should be tension, contrast and variety in designs. Color books can be amazing, but they have the potential to be overwhelming.

Design is about a message. What do you want your spread to say? It does not matter how good the design is, it is nothing if it doesn’t have meaning.

There should be variety in everything, and everyone should understand this variety. The photographer, designer and writer should sit down together and discuss their ideas for the spreads.

Photographers should no longer just take photographs. They should be part of the story and be held responsible for captions.

Typography is art and should tell a story beyond the writer’s words. It should be readable and simple. Too many variations make it difficult to read. Type is only type when it is readable, otherwise it is just crap scribbled on a spread.

A designer should personalize his work, but he should also realize that he isn’t designing for just him. Radical ideas are great, but if you are going to use them, use them. Utilize them. Commit—wow, that’s a scary word.

Timid design is just as awful as timid writing. Both just suck.

Photography is important. Posed photography is ok, but no one should be posing.

Every spread should encompass something different, and the designer should experiment with contrast.

Cut outs are great, but they have to be perfect or they are tacky and ugly and stupid.

Trust you gut in everything. If you have a question about it, doubt it, etc then it’s wrong.

Toss ideas out to the staff. If someone doesn’t like it, then it is most likely not a good idea.

Over all, a good session. Informative, insightful, inspirational.

10 a.m.: Key Note Speaker—Mark Glaser

So, not going to lie, if it were not for my involvement with Preservation Today, I do not know how much of this session I would have listened to. Horrible, I know, but at least I am honest.

“Do the work you love.” I guess you could say that if you do what you love then maybe you don’t have to call it work. No?

Journalism is changing its course. It is no longer about newspapers and print. It has reached the media age and it is skyrocketing.

The audience now decides what they want to know and how they want to know it. The ball is in their court.

Mr. Glaser broke down the “rules” of new media for us:

1) Audience knows more than the journalist. New is a convo, not just a lecture.

2) People are in control of their media experience.

3) Anyone can be a media creator or remixer.

4) Traditional media must evolve or die.

5) Despite censorship, the story will get out.

6) Amateur and professional journalists should work together.

7) Journalists need to be multi platform and entrepreneurial.

Mr. Glaser was very well spoken and appeared credible. After his session, I spoke with him about Preservation Today, and he agreed to let me email him a trillion (literally) questions regarding social media and how to help Preservation Today flourish. He seemed intrigued by the idea and the concept, so that was kind of cool.

11:30 a.m.: Award Winning Ideas

So, after speaking with Mr. Glaser, I was about ten minutes late to this session. You could imagine my excitement when I realized the speakers had yet to arrive. After waiting for ten minutes, Sarah and I soon realized they were not late, they just weren’t going to come.

Ok, so this is a way bigger deal that you might think. There were like 5 different sessions I wanted to go to, and after looking at the “yearbook of yearbooks” last night I figured that perhaps this would be the best one.

Now, if I had known the speakers weren’t going to be joining us, I would have picked one of the other four I had looked at.

Well, I didn’t want to go into a different session 25 minutes late, so Sarah and I decided to check out the venders again. That in itself, proved to be awesome.

I am not going to lie, I am slightly skeptical to work with Multi Media. Mr. Trotter might be amazing, and he might be the best thing that ever happened to Northwester, but after talking with some of the other yearbook folks out here…I am not too sure.

Sarah and I finally went and spoke with an adviser in the hallways, and she had a lot of good pieces of advice to share. I look forward to sitting down with Kera, Brandon and Ms. B to discuss all that she had in mind.

12:30 a.m.: Not Your Mama’s Yearbook

This was not my original plan. I sat up with Kevin and Sarah last night debating between this session and an editor’s one. Sarah and I finally came to the decision that she would attend Mama’s Yearbook , and I would venture toward the editor’s session.—if only I could get in the door.

So, needless to say, Sarah soon found me by her side yet again for what turned out to be one of the best sessions EVER.

She passed out a packet of her power point, and then she discussed different ways for us to think “outside” the box within different sections of the book.

“You can say Fuck in the book.”—you can say whatever you want to say, as long as it is accurately done.

Oh yes, our speaker dropped the “F” bomb in the session, and then encouraged naked. Oh yes, this lady could be our friend.

It was great. I am so excited to sit down the with staff and implement some of the ideas to the spreads we already have assigned, and I look forward to perhaps applying some of the other ideas to spreads for next year’s book.

1:30 p.m.: Features Pages

Wow. This lady had more energy than anything else I have ever seen. She was AWESOME!

“When you find something delightful inside your paper, it is like finding a chocolate chip in your paper.” Oh yes, she compared amazingess to nasty random chocolate. Don’t get me wrong. I like chocolate chips, but not in my newspaper!

Another thing that slightly disturbed me. In a story about how inappropriate porn is, should you really have to read the woman’s crotch to get part of the story? Maybe it is just me, but that that does not sound appropriate at all.

She had a lot of good examples, and things that I wouldn’t mind copying. I think one of the best things she had to share was this: keep it simple. Start BIG and simplify it. Work with what you have.

2:30 p.m.: Your Bias is Showing

This was a pretty good session. She showed a lot of examples of how newspapers inadvertently (maybe) use photography to display an opinion.

She had a lot to say, and a lot of it useful, but some of it was lost when we suddenly got in the middle of a political debate. I don’t know. I got lost and confused.—nothing new.

But I was able to use some of her designs and photography to come up with thoughts for our book. So that was good. I look forward to showing Brandon my sketches Monday.

Overall the trip has been good. It has provided the opportunity to bond with some of my fellow staffers and student media folks because we don’t bond enough already.

I cannot wait until tomorrows sessions and to see what else tonight has in store.

And I would also like to share with the reader, that I have successfully walked around Kansas City and found myself in some random places to get free wireless just to find out today while working on this blog that there was free wireless right outside the hotel. Oh ya. That was news I was tickled pink to hear.

Rocking out in KC (Thursday)

2008-10-30T18:29:00.003-07:00

Thursday

There are moments in our lives that we are blessed enough to enjoy the pleasure of having some “time-out” time to think and evaluate what we are doing. Kansas City has allowed me ample time during and between sessions to look at my “yearbook carrier.”

One thing the reader might need to know is this: I was not the best applicant for the position as EIC; I was the only applicant. This is not to say that I am incapable of fulfilling the shoes as EIC or to say I was the worst applicant, but simply that no one else was willing to step up into the leadership role.

With that being said, we also began the year with a staff of “yearbook virgins” and no publisher/printer, whatever term you might prefer to use. So, needless to say, there was and is a lot to learn.

I came to Kansas City in hopes of learning the skills and such I need to best lead my staff. My only wish: the conference would have been held before August. There is no way this blog could begin to explain the knowledge accumulated during my trip, but I am going to try.

Today I attended 5 ½ session. Each shedding new light in different directions.

9 a.m.: Recruiting and Retaining Staff

Wow. So, not going to lie. This was not the session I signed up for, in more ways than one.

First lesson learned: figure out how to read. Each room might share the same “main” name, but they also have a little letter attached. A. B. C. Get the drift?

Well, it turned out that I was in room B when I should have been in room A, but no worries. The man came in and said he would speak about recruiting and retaining staff. Wonderful. I am no expert, this could apply to me. Let’s do it.

What was my original plan? To attend a session on figurative language. Am I disappointed I missed it? Yes.

Now, this guy seemed like a pleasurable man. He came from a 2-year institution in the northwest, and apparently had one of the best bi-weekly papers around. All of his students worked for class credit, much like we did at TJC, and he pushed hard to recruit.

He had some great thoughts. They published things in area newspapers, talked to junior highs and flirted with high schools.

His school had an event, seemingly equivalent to our J Day, where they would host 4 sessions an hour, for 4 hours. He would feed the advisors and speakers, and then bait them with his institution’s journalism amazingness.

He would offer to go to the high schools and “critic” their papers and talk to their staffs. Brilliant plan. This takes dating to a whole other level. He is networking with these high school teachers and building relationships. Not only does this help him get students, but it helps the teachers desire to come back to his institution for their workshop. Amazing.

He goes in the early spring, before the seniors have committed to an institution, and talks to the staffs. He then sends them letters and everything else. Amazing.

But that’s not all. This man’s techniques go beyond sweet talking high schools. He has a major league baseball team tied around his fingers. Sometime in the year, his staff takes a weekend retreat to some city, I forget—sue me.

Well, while there, they not only get a tour of the ball park, but they get two photographers on the field, students in the press box, box seating for the rest of the students, personal after the game interviews and more. For what you may ask? So that sports team could have one full-color page dedicated to them.

Now that’s a trade, let me tell you. Not totally sure how ethical, but think of the opportunities those kids get.

Granted, they also see some other things on the trip like a salt-water beach, some newsrooms and such, so it’s not completely sport driven. But what a deal.

How do they pay for all this? Now that is a splendid question. They get GIA’s and do fundraisers.

They do this thing called a “book swap” at the start of each semester that apparently brings in about $3,000. I do not completely understand how this works, but they re-sell used books they bought from students.

Not too bad.

There was one idea he had that I really liked. Totally not fundraising or recruiting or retaining related, but oh well. They would display the past newspapers (about 3 years old) all around their newsroom. They just stapled them up near the ceiling. Now, I don’t think I would want that all around our newsroom because our newsroom is beautiful thanks to some “beach house” and “stem green” paint and the efforts of both The Current Sauce and Potpourri. But perhaps something along those lines somewhere else would be awesome.

They did it apparently so when they came into a “design slump,” they could get some fresh ideas. Very cool.

Well, the session ended. Not completely horrible, but not what I wanted to work on. C’est la vie.

10 a.m.: How to Survive as a Yearbook Editor

Man. Let me tell you, amazing. The speakers were well spoken; they got their points across and then offered valuable information that I hope to attempt to apply. Some of it will have to be applied more for “in the future,” but some of it can slowly be applied now.

What they did was present 10 strategies “to survive,” and in order to not completely butcher the meaning behind their wonderful presentation, I will just tell you the steps.

10. Recruit: Talk to the journalism departments, talk to English and art classes, reach out to organizations, hold an open house—with food, talk with the freshmen, reach out to high schools, add a personal touch, volunteer to teach classes at high schools and talk to the admissions department about SAT surveys.

9. Training: Host a summer workshop, host an idea forum, attend summer publishing workshops, go on retreats, have personal staff training.

8. Staff Manual: include history, chain-of-command, job descriptions, ladder, deadlines, phone numbers, etc.

7. Develop a Management Style: coach, one-minute manager, management styles, leadership styles, know your weaknesses, leadership is big picture and inspiration, manager is organization and day to day, use True Colors test, use the ice cream test.

6. Set Your Goals High: individual and staff goals, goals for sections, have both short-tem and long-term goals, set them high so staff needs to reach for them.

5. Idea Files: design, headlines, graphics, color, secondary coverage, stories, photos, idea walls. Get ideas from magazines for designs. Good magazines include: real simple, rolling stone, details, G2 esquire, nylon, ESPN, BPC History, living ?. Visit pagedesigner.com and spd.org

4. Plan Ahead: maestro, coaching (pointer.org), mini deadlines, deadlines, pre-visualize with photos for events, utilize google docs and concept share.

3. Have a Sense of Humor: survival tactic, laugh at yourself, smile, joke of the day, wall of shame, etc

2. Establish Traditions: wall of fame, weekend theme parties, buddy system, birthday bashes, parites, awards, banquet. Embrace the “cheese.” Think outside the box

1. Reward Them and Have Fun: food, yearbook bucks, praise, thank you’s, recognition wall, teamwork, celebrate. Staff shirts.

11a.m.: State of College Yearbooks

So, this should have been an amazing session, but sadly the “session-tears” were hardly prepared. They tried. It just didn’t work out in their favor.

The moral of the session: college yearbooks are dying…big surprise.

It is sad, but as the producers of the book, we need to do more to change this.

We went around the room and spoke about our books and how they are sold and such. It turns out that a lot of staffs have to sell their books much like in high school, and it isn’t very successful. Most colleges of over a thousand only sell about 100-200 books. In case you didn’t know, that is slightly pathetic.

Apparently some schools also struggle with their relationship with the newspaper. I gleefully made the mental note that we didn’t have an issue with that. While some newspaper staffs decorate the newsroom with ripped up yearbooks, our newspaper staff helps write for ours.

There were a lot of great ideas from people with horrible relations, but sadly they didn’t shut up long enough for Sarah or me to voice our relationship with the amazing Saucers. C’est la vie—their loss.

We spoke about different ways to advertise the yearbooks. This is what was decided: announce in Facebook, emails, tabletop, newsletters, sticker on newspaper, talk to graduating seniors and freshmen, solicit to parents, send fliers home, advertise in the paper, snail mail, “you’re in the book” postcards and emails, “7 times” idea.

Out of the schools that lost their yearbooks, it was either because of lack of sales and lack of interest.

It was also suggested to have a giant yearbook guy to help promote books (figured Vic could help us out), and it was also suggest a “picture yourself” section in the book. Basically, that would be a play from Facebook.

It was nice to know that our yearbook is doing better than some of the others. There were some schools that have been around for 125 years, but they had consecutive years without a yearbook. We have only had 3 years without a book, and that was because of some World Wars. Hopefully we can overcome the hurdles ahead of us and reach our 200^th anniversary without years of missing books.

Noon: How to Write Editorials

“Good sex does not have to be loud sex.”

Wow. Now that is a lead, if only this part of my blog was about sex. Between that and paper airplanes, I do not think that I can forget that amazing session.

We all want to be better writers. We all want to move people. But how can you accomplish this with crappy columns or editorials?

A bad editorials or columns (in case you didn’t know) consist of opinions that lack organization and details, lack facts, are too pompous, overly long or excessively preachy. If you have all that in your editorial or column, then all you have is “Le Poup.”

No one cares what you think or the fact you think it. Just write it. Use your background to lead people down a path.

Talk to other people outside of the newsroom. Random people in the street. Everyone has something to say. Everyone has a story. Everyone has an opinion.

When you write an editorial or a column, you need to have a point. Do you want to change something? Do you want to point out that something is right or wrong?

Get an identifiable posistion, and then…now here is a novel idea…STICK TO IT. Don’t make a reader search for your opinion or have to guess it. Tell them what you are going to say. Then say it. Then tell them what you just said.

Now, before I continue, I should clarify for the reader…a column is an opinion on one person. An editorial is the opinion of the newspaper.

So, with that being said, it is important that for editorials, a paper should have an editorial board. This is good to help you strengthen your opinions and your thoughts.

When you get a group of people together with diverse opinions, you are bound to learn something new. And, you are bound to better be able to defend your position because you know what people on the other side of the fence think.

If an editorial or column are not reported and have no research, then it is just an idea.

Just like a news article need a nut graph, so do opinions.

You should mix and match your styles and tones. You don’t want to be monotonous with your writing. Pay attention to the tone in which you write, and than ensure that it matches your opinion. Don’t be funny when you are talking about rape and such. (Duh?) Sometimes it is good to completely re-write your opinion to help you get a better tone.

Columns should have quotes. Active verbs are a must. Passive verbs…not so much.

The easiest thing for readers to do is quit reading.—DON’T LET THEM.

Know the grammer rules, know why there are there, and then break them. That’s what they are for.

Use everything you can. Actively get online. Use interactive polls, comments, blogs (wow, I have NEVER used that before).

When editors are deciding what to put in the opinion section, they need to agree to disagree. Voice all sides. Post both good and bad things. Never settle. Bad writing is bad writing. That’s all there is to it.

Editors need to be aware that editorials should not only reflect what is going on, but sometimes they lead. Sometimes a paper needs to be a voice of reason during bad times. And papers should never let one incident change their opinions.

Don’t sink to lower levels and watch sarcasm.

Overall, be amazing.

1 p.m.: Recruitment, Retention and Motivation

So, a little known fact: I hate elevators. They always freak me out and make me feel gross inside. Weird, I know.

Well, sadly everyone is trying to use the elevators at the same time, and at that time I had no clue where the stairs were. Well, long story short. I was late for this session, so I am sad to say, I will never know how it began. But, this is what I got from it.

Recruitment: Start in high schools, join state and national journalism associations, access account information, send personal letters, talk with community colleges (that is because community college kids are AMAZING), make a promotional yearbook sheet.

Don’t forget your on campus prospects. Talk at freshmen orientation, network with organizations on campus, search in the different departments (art, English, mass communications, etc), have business cards, brochures, etc.

Select staff members who are enthusiastic and willing to go out and talk to people. Talk to professors and ask them to recommend students who would be successful on the yearbook. Put testimonials in brochures from different people who once worked on the yearbook and are now successful somewhere else.

Retention: People need to experience success.

Money is always a keeper, but if that isn’t an option, there are a lot of other things staffs can do.

Create a positive office environment. Make it feel homey and welcoming. Equipment is always good. It is always good to encourage students with the advanced programs that they can use for personal use (after they finish their yearbook assignments, of course).

It is also good to accent the experience they will be receiving. Talk to alumni and employers and ask them to give testimonials. Network with alumni.

TCU also has a DVD of past yearbookers about their experience—something we should totally do.

Editors should plan ahead and plan a workable workload. Utilize a staff manual that states all expectations and responsibilities, etc.

Organization is essential. Use assignment sheets, have a planner, have information forms for organizations.

Train the staffs. Talk about time and leadership. Use rewards and the buddy system.

They even suggested the editors read the book, “One Minute Manager.”

Motivation: tell your staff they are doing quality work. Remind them how it helps with their resumes and portfolios. Critique staffs now rather than after the book prints. Have brown bag meetings—everyone brings their lunch and you talk.

Create a staff identity with t-shirts and business cards, etc.

Have celebrations for the staff. It is ok if they are corney—it is kinda the point. Have weekly awards, internal awards, national awards and an end of the year banquet.

Make yearbook distribution an event. There is no reason to have boxes of book in a closet. Get them out.

2 p.m.: Making Magic

Oh man, I just wanna get out there and shoot stuff. Not with guns, but with cameras.

As editor, I should be able to step into the role of anyone on staff and rock out. So, I figured that attending a photography workshop would not only be intriguing, but informational.

This is the ½ session I mentioned before. I only stayed for half of it because I did not have any camera equipment with me, so I would slightly be wasting my time.

They speaker was interesting and knowledgeable. He helped me put myself in the shoes of my photographers, and man…those are big shoes to fill.

He said we should think creatively. Avoid boring photography. The more you control, then more you can create. Use different lighting techniques and angels. Have fun.

The photographer should know what the story is and know what needs to be portrayed. If they don’t know this, there is no way they can be successful in the eyes of the editor.

Top tricks: time, perspective and lighting.

He spoke about reverse engineering. Basically, look at a photograph and put yourself in the eyes of the photographer. See what he did by taking the photo apart piece by piece and then recreate it. Look at the light sources, the photographers intent and just rock out.

Time: Don’t just capture time, enhance it, steal it, help it grow. If a guy is running, show him running. Play.

Perspective: don’t portray things how you see them. No one cares.—now that’s a shocker. Get down on the ground, get dirty. Stand on something. Stick your camera in the air. Rock out.

Lighting: play with soft and hard light. Soft light: diffused shadows. Hard light: sharp shadows. When accenting fitness, shoot from a sharp angel.

Photography should be fun and intriguing. If it isn’t, then something is wrong.

Well, that’s the story of my sessions. The rest of KC, now that’s an adventure. If the reader only knew what I went through to publish this blog. I have walked all over Kansas City in search of wireless internet. After closing the library and walking all over the city, we finally found a restaurant that offered free wireless. So now we are in a fancy place with our laptops out finishing our blogs in hopes that the readers are slightly entertained or at least informed.

And, by the way…what kind of library closes at 6 pm on a Thursday, and what kind of Starbucks doesn’t have free wireless. Seriously!?

Kansas City Bound (Wednesday)

2008-10-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

This being the tenth time I have attempted to re-write this introduction in hope that I could be inspiring and crap, I suppose I should just stick to the facts and prepare for bed.

We arrived Kansas City today for the CMA journalism conference thing. Not only did I completely over pack, but I forgot to bring the one and only thing my advisor asked me to bring—last year’s yearbook.

No worries, the world will still turn, and life goes on. We will just have to wait to have last year’s amazing book evaluated.

The trip was decent. Mostly everyone attempted to sleep, although for some it was just a series of failed attempts. I am sad to report my book, which I had fully intended on reading, has been dog-eared about every other page and only read until the start of chapter 2. Perhaps the student media van was not the best place to attempt to read a book I struggled to start all last summer.

A few of the highlights from the drive: we took a picture with THE Ronald McDonald (what he was doing at McDonald’s in Arkansas on a Wednesday, we will never know), we drove through Amish country AND saw a horse-drawn buggie on the interstate, the soap at one gas station smelled AMAZING, nobody died and nobody peed their pants.

Of course there was some interesting conversations, but that is to be expected from this amazing group.

Upon arriving at the hotel, finally, we headed “downtown” to get something to eat. It was an adventure, and the food was amazing. We took some slightly entertaining pictures, and met some folks from New York who after asking us to walk with them, completely ditched us—lame, I know.

Nothing much to say there. We got back to the hotel and ventured to the open house, which was sadly no longer “open,” but I find something that has yet to cease to amaze me—TJC’s newspaper. Our once everyother week, black and white paper is now full color and amazing! I am not going to lie, I was impressed and slightly disappointed. Of course they had to wait until after I left to be amazing, but that’s how things work, no?

I suppose I have entertained the reader enough for tonight. I look forward to the adventures tomorrow brings with our back-to-back sessions and, of course, blogging about them.

A Seemingly Fruitless Battle

2008-10-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

Passion.

Speaking with Joe Cunningham all week, I searched for something I was passionate enough about to write, but all I found was an apparent lack thereof on my part.

Sad, isn't it? In a world filled with relationships, politics and world hunger, you would imagine that a simple college student would find something to write.

But what good is it to sit down and conceive words for what's wrong or what's right in the world? Wouldn't it just be better to do something about it?

Relationships. He loves me, he loves me not. While for some, that might be the debate of the hour, for me it is just a passing thought. It isn't worth taking up inches to describe the intimate details of my romantic escapades. Besides, isn't that why we have Facebook?

Politics. How many times can people truly go back and forth about the presidential election? How many articles do you truly want to read regarding other people's opinions? We should just formulate our own. It is sort of important. He will be the man who runs the country for ideally the next four years. I refuse to form my opinions around the thoughts of peers. I would rather watch the debates and decide which platform best represents my ideas, my desires, my goals.

World hunger. Seriously? What am I going to do about that? I'm in college. I struggle to feed myself, let alone another nation.

Going Green is definitely an important issue, and we should want to protect what is left of our ozone layer. We should want to ensure that the next few generations have clean air to breathe and green grass to run on, but we should also realize that pollution isn't the only reason for global warming. It is coming. It has been coming. We are just encouraging it to come a little faster.

I would love to say that my studies in the one economics course I have taken to date have prepared me for the recession we are currently enduring, but sadly there is still more to learn. I would love to be able to retire when I am 60 or 70 like most of our grandparents, but sadly that is becoming more and more impractical. With endless student loans awaiting me after that glorious day of graduation, it will be years before I can even consider the idea of retirement.

No. Passion. Passion is what I need to find, what we all need to find.

In today's world, passion seems to be masked by so many things: failed relationships, blockbusters, the newest hit, fashion.

Someone is always deciding for us what we should be passionate about. What our minds should wander toward when we set the books aside, when we lock the door after the endless work hours.

I want to find passion. I want to search through all the avenues until it grips my heart and runs. That kind of passion you cannot find in a book or a song or a blockbuster.

That kind of passion requires all of your senses. Everything.

We could spend our time in college following those few people who found a passion, or we could take the time to reevaluate ourselves and our desires and find our own.

You can be the next Mozart or Picasso or Gibson. You can be the next Leonardo or Lincoln or Mother Theresa.

We can be whoever, whatever we want to be. We just need to find that one thing that encourages us to grab fate by the throat and run.

We just need to find our passion. We need to step outside of the molds of society and find for ourselves what makes our hearts race, because no one is going to take the time to do that for us.