Who is John Galt?

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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.