A Slice of My Life
I’ve always been big on sampler platters. I love all kinds of food in general and I find that my favorite meals are made up of little tastes of different dishes. I never eat very much of one thing, just snack all day like a scavenger on whatever I can find. (I believe that half the media lives this way, especially after last week’s reaction to food in the newsroom.)
But, I think this is also why I like being a reporter. I wake up uncertain of what I’ll be doing each day. I go wherever the story takes me, and live it for a short period of time.
This week, I’d have to say my favorite slice was my experience covering the Harry Potter phenomenon. Not only was it unique because our own promotions producer received her copy early, but covering the book release revealed something that,-during the age of video games, text messaging, television, and computers,-I thought was being thrown to the wayside.
Children still read. It was amazing to walk into Books-A-Million Friday night and see hundreds of young kids as excited about a book as they were about the Nintendo Wii. I only hope this trend continues and people of all ages realize nothing beats a good story.
So, who knows what the next week will bring, what news will break, or how late at night I’ll still be working as the weekend approaches. But one thing is for certain: when Tuesday rolls around I’ll be hungry for more.
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Getting Involved
I’ve been looking for something to do in the community so that I can meet some new people and get involved, and last week I found just that. I’m excited to be the new publicity chair for Panama City’s Relay for Life. But it’s not a position I just fell into carelessly. It’s one that comes with a load of responsibility and emotion for me.
I’d been involved in Relay for Life during college, more-so last year than this, because I had a friend who was diagnosed with leukemia. She fought for a long time… and my friends and I fought for her, raising as much money as we could. With the help of generous donations from the community, I was able to raise the most money on my team, and as a whole, Virginia Commonwealth University pushed well-over our goal and raised over $20,000 in our first year hosting the event. My friends and I adopted the slogan, “Do it for Yin!”
In August of last year, Yin lost her battle and I did something no one should ever have to do…spoke at the funeral of my 21-year old friend. I remember feeling angry that I had tried so hard and somehow it still didn’t save her. The next year, my friends and I talked about starting a team, and we went to the first couple of meetings, but we just didn’t have the same spirit and hope that we’d had the year before.
But, I still attended the event and was surprised to see how much it’d grown and how successful it was once more. Looking around at the faces of survivors, some of them 5-year-old children, I wished I’d been more a part of it.
Yin was the kind of person who never lost hope. Somehow even though she was in the hospital when we visited her, she’d actually cheer us up. Always smiling, always talking, she made it look so easy. She would’ve wanted me to keep fighting for everyone else who suffers from this disease and so I am proud to say I’m getting back up to continue the battle. I hope you all get the opportunity to attend, if not Panama City’s relay, then one of the other relays in your community.
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Welcome to Panama City… and the world.
A little over a month ago, I had one of the most eventful weekends of my life. I graduated college with a bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and I got a job here in Panama City as a reporter. You can imagine how my head was spinning for days as I sent my thank you cards, hopped on a plane for the interview, came back with barely two weeks to pack and leave the place which until now I had known as my only home. It was only after I had said goodbye to my mother and was driving onto Interstate 95 from the suburbs of Washington, D.C that I realized I was leaving. Not only was I changing a location, but also my entire state of mind; a life which had revolved around classrooms and homework until now.
And so, my newest adventure begins. I’ve been awestruck as I entered the exact career I’d intended, fresh out of college. I’m reminded by others of how many do not receive this incredible opportunity, so I’ve been saying a little “thank you” every day for mine. Reporting can be hard work, especially remembering to do the proper camera work, editing, writing for TV and the web, and of course, now blogging. I have to admit I was a little intimidated with the intensity and speed of a newsroom on my first day, but as the days turn into weeks I feel as if I’m jogging right alongside, learning the in’s and out’s, and finding my niche.
I am trying my best to adjust to this new home, a 15-hour drive away from the place I left. I think being a reporter helps me assimilate quicker, giving me more opportunities to talk with local politicians, get involved in community events, and learn about the history of this city. I now know why the sand is so white, how real estate has boomed within recent years, and I even have Florida license plates on my car. - I mean plate. In Virginia we’re required to have two.
As I drove to the station this morning over the bridge from Panama City Beach in my Florida-plated car, I realized I wasn’t leaving anything behind. What I need I brought with me: my education, a sense of adventure, and a passion for telling stories. I’m excited to wake up every morning knowing I get to drive over that bridge and find another story to tell...and I’m looking forward to continuing to tell you a little of mine.
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About Me
I was born and raised just outside the nation's capital in northern Virginia, and recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major of Broadcast Journalism and minor in International Relations. I studied abroad for a while in Italy and also traveled to Shanghai, China for a journalism class. During college I worked at CBS6 in Richmond, VA as well as FOX5 in Washington D.C. I'm glad to be in sunny Florida and look forward to making Panama City my home for the next few years...
Recent Entries:
- A Death, a Birth, and a New Year
- Difficult Times to Give Thanks
- World of Couch Potatoes
- Trying the Trolley - Day 5
- Trying the Trolley - Day 4
- Trying the Trolley - Day 2
- Trying the Trolley - Day 3
- Trying the Trolley - Day 1
- A Year-Old Newby
- Throwing a Bone
- Relay for Life a Success!
- Sometimes Too Removed
- Those Born Without Wings Should Jump Instead
- Those Born Without Wings Shouldn’t Fly
- February Sweeping me off my Feet
Other News13 Blogs:
- The Casual Historian - Larche Hardy
- Derby Girl - Enocha Van Lierop
- The Newby - Jessi Chapin
- Gainesville, Georgia's All American Girl - Tuquyen Mach
