In full disclosure, I use social media a lot and am even logged on to Twitter and Facebook as I write this.
I'll admit it, I'm a social media junkie. I have multiple conversations going on both the big sites right now and have been having multiple conversations with a lot of friends all semester. Heck, I even use twitter to communicate daily with people that are in the same building as me.
But something I often wonder about is if we use these platforms to communicate things that should be done in private. For instance, in the past year I've found out about at least two family things that should have been told to everyone in private (having someone post a status about a family member in the hospital before telling you is not fun). And I'll admit, I've done things like this too. When my dog died last week, I texted two of my best friends about it and after the shock and such had worn off, posted it on Facebook. Granted, most of the people that it directly affected other than me (my mom and stepdad) were also there with me. But others had to find out through Facebook because I posted it there (and that post led to a lot of uncomfortable calls in the days after the event). So obviously, I'm not blameless in this either.
But I have to wonder when we as a society crossed over to the "It happened in my life so let's post it on social media" craze. We've already pretty much lost any communication skills we have in life just by the advent of technology (why talk face-to-face when you can text?) but has it got to the point where any personal event should be broadcast over the internet before those directly involved are informed?
Some people still know when to hold things in when it comes to their private life and I give them massive kudos for not falling into the tech trap. But for those of us that don't, maybe we should hold off posting stuff that needs to get around to certain people until it gets to them. Heck, even the news doesn't post names of victims until their families are informed. Sure, readers want news as soon as it happens and even 40 minutes after an event seems late, but when it comes to our personal lives and not stuff that will affect the whole country or world, 40 minutes could save us a lot of headaches down the road when we have to face the music from those that had to find out with everyone else when they should have been the first ones on the phone.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
So Many Opportunities, Not Enough Life
Okay, so the title may be a bit of a lie since technically I don't have a ton of opportunities yet (but in all fairness, I haven't looked for them all that much) but my interests are so varied now that I don't know where I'll land. The only things I know for certain are that I love sports and really want to work in certain ones and I want to work for Team USA one day. Or so I think.
See, my problem is that I want to do so many things and not all of them align with my goals. I absolutely love horse racing and had a blast covering it during the Breeders' Cup and could see me working in the industry as a writer or something else to do with communications one day. The only problem with that is that horse racing is not an Olympic event (although there are multiple other equine events).
Of course, I do have my sights on getting a job with the USEF (picture of the headquarters below), which is the sanctioning body of the equine Olympic teams for the US Team and I realistically see myself ending up there one day.
There are a ton of opportunities to do things such as interning (or working) for multiple US teams and I would love the opportunity to do it but there's only so much time for me to intern with them in the next few years. I plan on trying to get these internships in the future, especially if I have a semester off next year (or if I go to the school I'm looking at in the states). But even as I think and plan for these things, I keep going back to the racing industry.
My life has pretty much revolved around racing since I was a little kid and wanted to be a jockey (that dream was sadly shattered when I grew to taller than 5'2 in 3rd grade and just kept growing). Unlike other kids who were playing on the computer or doing who knows what with friends, I was studying post positions and researching what my favorite horses were doing. But I can also make a case for a lot of other sports and doing that exact same thing as well (ask me NASCAR trivia from the last 13 years and I can answer it just like that, my sundays were well spent).
I don't think there's a wrong direction here and I'm pretty sure that no matter where I end up, it will ultimately make me happy since I am being picky about my career but at the same time I don't want to job hop so I am looking for a long time position with whatever job I choose. See the confusion? I wish my decisions were simple like the 15 years that I knew exactly what I wanted to do but widening my horizons has done the exact opposite.
While this blog got off topic a little bit, it shows my confusion in the full light. I feel like I'm being pulled in multiple directions with no solution in sight. Do I go with my old faithful, the racing industry or do I follow my goal and attempt to work for Team USA? Maybe I'll try and get internships with both options and see what happens. At this point, the only thing that I'm certain about is grad school and hopefully going abroad if all works out as planned. Maybe the place I end up for that will shed some light on where I really belong. Hopefully it doesn't open up even more questions when it comes to my career because my poor brain may die if that happens.
See, my problem is that I want to do so many things and not all of them align with my goals. I absolutely love horse racing and had a blast covering it during the Breeders' Cup and could see me working in the industry as a writer or something else to do with communications one day. The only problem with that is that horse racing is not an Olympic event (although there are multiple other equine events).
Of course, I do have my sights on getting a job with the USEF (picture of the headquarters below), which is the sanctioning body of the equine Olympic teams for the US Team and I realistically see myself ending up there one day.
There are a ton of opportunities to do things such as interning (or working) for multiple US teams and I would love the opportunity to do it but there's only so much time for me to intern with them in the next few years. I plan on trying to get these internships in the future, especially if I have a semester off next year (or if I go to the school I'm looking at in the states). But even as I think and plan for these things, I keep going back to the racing industry.
My life has pretty much revolved around racing since I was a little kid and wanted to be a jockey (that dream was sadly shattered when I grew to taller than 5'2 in 3rd grade and just kept growing). Unlike other kids who were playing on the computer or doing who knows what with friends, I was studying post positions and researching what my favorite horses were doing. But I can also make a case for a lot of other sports and doing that exact same thing as well (ask me NASCAR trivia from the last 13 years and I can answer it just like that, my sundays were well spent).
I don't think there's a wrong direction here and I'm pretty sure that no matter where I end up, it will ultimately make me happy since I am being picky about my career but at the same time I don't want to job hop so I am looking for a long time position with whatever job I choose. See the confusion? I wish my decisions were simple like the 15 years that I knew exactly what I wanted to do but widening my horizons has done the exact opposite.
While this blog got off topic a little bit, it shows my confusion in the full light. I feel like I'm being pulled in multiple directions with no solution in sight. Do I go with my old faithful, the racing industry or do I follow my goal and attempt to work for Team USA? Maybe I'll try and get internships with both options and see what happens. At this point, the only thing that I'm certain about is grad school and hopefully going abroad if all works out as planned. Maybe the place I end up for that will shed some light on where I really belong. Hopefully it doesn't open up even more questions when it comes to my career because my poor brain may die if that happens.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Two Years Ago
Two years ago (probably about this time of night) I was watching the National Finals Rodeo and got the crazy idea that maybe I could like the journalists reporting on the event. A few years earlier I had shocked my mom by telling her "maybe I should major in journalism" but never followed that thought. I had also often jokingly said "If only I could use my useless knowledge of [sports] stats useful" but had never really thought that I could.
The NFR was the turning point of that and the 2010 Winter Olympics sealed the deal when I saw a local reporter actually reporting in Vancouver for the events. It took me a few months to figure out the whole how to be a sports journalist thing out with a lot of help from Google but by the time I decided I wanted to major in sports journalism, it was too late to change schools to a program that was exclusively sports related. Looking back on it now, I'm kind of happy I didn't change.
After I came to WT in the spring to register for some mass comm classes and visit the campus again, I somehow found Bleacher Report. I honestly can't remember how it happened but I quickly got into the roll of things there and that pushed me into other avenues.
The month before I came to WT, I was approached to write for a magazine called GX Magazine. It was short lived (I wrote from August to March, I believe) since it shut down in March but it was extremely awesome to get published and allowed me to go to the 2010 Breeders' Cup to write for them (unfortunately, they were falling apart by that time so I didn't get a press pass).
From there, things have kind of taken off with a sports job at our school's paper, an actual internship with Bleacher Report, the realization that I am also half way good at sports photography after working with the Eternal Flame, and the chance to be "press" at a huge event like the 2011 Breeders' Cup (long sentence much?). These are all things that I'll never forget (and am even looking at some of the pictures I've taken at all those events over the past few months that are hanging on my wall) and will help me in the future along with the teachers and connections I have made at school.
While I am toying with multiple sports related occupations (media relations, etc) when I graduate, I'm extremely happy I took that "silly" idea I had two years ago and ran with it because I really can't imagine doing anything else. So I guess once again, I can thank the rodeo industry for changing my life. It's funny how it has a way of doing that.
The NFR was the turning point of that and the 2010 Winter Olympics sealed the deal when I saw a local reporter actually reporting in Vancouver for the events. It took me a few months to figure out the whole how to be a sports journalist thing out with a lot of help from Google but by the time I decided I wanted to major in sports journalism, it was too late to change schools to a program that was exclusively sports related. Looking back on it now, I'm kind of happy I didn't change.
After I came to WT in the spring to register for some mass comm classes and visit the campus again, I somehow found Bleacher Report. I honestly can't remember how it happened but I quickly got into the roll of things there and that pushed me into other avenues.
The month before I came to WT, I was approached to write for a magazine called GX Magazine. It was short lived (I wrote from August to March, I believe) since it shut down in March but it was extremely awesome to get published and allowed me to go to the 2010 Breeders' Cup to write for them (unfortunately, they were falling apart by that time so I didn't get a press pass).
From there, things have kind of taken off with a sports job at our school's paper, an actual internship with Bleacher Report, the realization that I am also half way good at sports photography after working with the Eternal Flame, and the chance to be "press" at a huge event like the 2011 Breeders' Cup (long sentence much?). These are all things that I'll never forget (and am even looking at some of the pictures I've taken at all those events over the past few months that are hanging on my wall) and will help me in the future along with the teachers and connections I have made at school.
While I am toying with multiple sports related occupations (media relations, etc) when I graduate, I'm extremely happy I took that "silly" idea I had two years ago and ran with it because I really can't imagine doing anything else. So I guess once again, I can thank the rodeo industry for changing my life. It's funny how it has a way of doing that.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Horse Slaughter
With the title of this post, you know it has the chance to be loaded but thankfully there shouldn't be any bickering on the actual post... but the comments could be a different story if people actually feel the need to voice their opinions.
Earlier this week, slaughter was re-legalized (for the most part) in the United States. I am really happy about this although horse slaughter really isn't on my happy list. But since I have been called a non-horse lover among other things for my stance on this, I feel I should probably just write down why I support horse slaughter so I can just link people to this every time they try to argue with me.
First point: Horses are livestock. We treat them like pets and they are companion animals more than most other animals classified as livestock in the US but the point stands that they are still livestock. Yes, Americans don't eat them (at least not publicly) but other countries do and it's not really my business if people want to eat them as long as its not affecting me or causing major world issues (both of which aren't happening at this time).
Second point: It keeps horses from being shipped to places where we can't regulate them. Slaughter isn't pleasant in the best of circumstances unless it's done in a pasture where an animal doesn't know its coming but at least if it happens in the United States, we can regulate how these animals die. Plus, if we have plants in the U.S., the horses won't have to be shipped to Mexico or Canada or even international waters. Sure, plants aren't super close to all the U.S. states, but it does cut down travel for at least some of them.
Third point: The horse market has a chance to go back up now. Unless you are in a top tier industry (like high level thoroughbreds), you've felt the effects of this ban. Horses that should sell for $10,000 are selling for $1,000 because there's more supply than demand. With domestic slaughter, the supply should go down upping the demand. This helps breeders, trainers, and even just regular riders. With healthier prices, we have a healthier industry.
Fourth point: Less starving. Right now, we hear about a ton more horses starving or being turned loose to fend for themselves because people can't/don't want to afford them. With this, instead of a horse starving to death for weeks, they just have a few seconds or minutes of pain. No suffering is good but if we can cut down the time they suffer, then I'm all for it. And for those that make the argument that every horse should be humanely put down by people that love them, its just not possible. Some people can't afford the shot to put them down or the cost to haul them away after it is done or they just don't want to pay it. While responsible horse owners do whatever they can, not everyone is responsible.
Fifth point: At least they will be used. This point probably sounds horrible but at least their body won't go to "waste" at a slaughter house. If they have to die, then I feel better knowing that they aren't just wasting away somewhere, instead providing someone/something with a food source. This also kind of goes back to the livestock part where its more the circle of life (I'm having a Lion King moment here). This may not be the best point of my argument but it is there.
Sixth point: It provides jobs in the US. We need jobs and having the slaughter plants open here provides that. It may not be the most preferred job on the planet but in a time where our economy can use any help it can get, horse slaughter houses help with that. Towns that used to have slaughter plants are now struggling and this could be the reversal they need to turn everything around.
I have way more reasons for feeling the way I do about this and I would love to have a solution that fits what everyone wants but overall, these are my main points for supporting slaughter. Yes, these animals do whatever they can for us but when they can't meet a peaceful end, I'd much rather have them end up at a place where it all ends quickly instead of suffering for a long time. Sure, responsible horsemanship and no overbreeding would be the best solution but that's never going to happen and until other solutions are found, slaughter is a very viable option that can help both horse and human.
Earlier this week, slaughter was re-legalized (for the most part) in the United States. I am really happy about this although horse slaughter really isn't on my happy list. But since I have been called a non-horse lover among other things for my stance on this, I feel I should probably just write down why I support horse slaughter so I can just link people to this every time they try to argue with me.
First point: Horses are livestock. We treat them like pets and they are companion animals more than most other animals classified as livestock in the US but the point stands that they are still livestock. Yes, Americans don't eat them (at least not publicly) but other countries do and it's not really my business if people want to eat them as long as its not affecting me or causing major world issues (both of which aren't happening at this time).
Second point: It keeps horses from being shipped to places where we can't regulate them. Slaughter isn't pleasant in the best of circumstances unless it's done in a pasture where an animal doesn't know its coming but at least if it happens in the United States, we can regulate how these animals die. Plus, if we have plants in the U.S., the horses won't have to be shipped to Mexico or Canada or even international waters. Sure, plants aren't super close to all the U.S. states, but it does cut down travel for at least some of them.
Third point: The horse market has a chance to go back up now. Unless you are in a top tier industry (like high level thoroughbreds), you've felt the effects of this ban. Horses that should sell for $10,000 are selling for $1,000 because there's more supply than demand. With domestic slaughter, the supply should go down upping the demand. This helps breeders, trainers, and even just regular riders. With healthier prices, we have a healthier industry.
Fourth point: Less starving. Right now, we hear about a ton more horses starving or being turned loose to fend for themselves because people can't/don't want to afford them. With this, instead of a horse starving to death for weeks, they just have a few seconds or minutes of pain. No suffering is good but if we can cut down the time they suffer, then I'm all for it. And for those that make the argument that every horse should be humanely put down by people that love them, its just not possible. Some people can't afford the shot to put them down or the cost to haul them away after it is done or they just don't want to pay it. While responsible horse owners do whatever they can, not everyone is responsible.
Fifth point: At least they will be used. This point probably sounds horrible but at least their body won't go to "waste" at a slaughter house. If they have to die, then I feel better knowing that they aren't just wasting away somewhere, instead providing someone/something with a food source. This also kind of goes back to the livestock part where its more the circle of life (I'm having a Lion King moment here). This may not be the best point of my argument but it is there.
Sixth point: It provides jobs in the US. We need jobs and having the slaughter plants open here provides that. It may not be the most preferred job on the planet but in a time where our economy can use any help it can get, horse slaughter houses help with that. Towns that used to have slaughter plants are now struggling and this could be the reversal they need to turn everything around.
I have way more reasons for feeling the way I do about this and I would love to have a solution that fits what everyone wants but overall, these are my main points for supporting slaughter. Yes, these animals do whatever they can for us but when they can't meet a peaceful end, I'd much rather have them end up at a place where it all ends quickly instead of suffering for a long time. Sure, responsible horsemanship and no overbreeding would be the best solution but that's never going to happen and until other solutions are found, slaughter is a very viable option that can help both horse and human.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Looking Back
Right before I did a major presentation for a class last night, I told Dr. Browning "I'd rather be doing debates right now" and she laughed and said "You know, you've changed a lot since last year." (For a little background, I took her media law class last year and at the end, we had to do two debates on media law, which, after the panic of the first one was over with turned out to be a lot of fun.) I've been reflecting a bit on how WT has changed me but until she made that comment, I hadn't realized just how much it has.
To be honest, when I came to WT last year, I was preoccupied with something else. I was in a long distance "relationship" and kind of hermitted myself up, only going to class, to the gym, and back to my room when I wasn't doing those two things. This went on for all of the first semester. I was actually working on studying abroad this year so I could be closer to him to really put effort into the relationship when it ended in January. While the break up tore me apart then, it's the best thing that could have happened to me because it wasn't really the best situation with way more give than take on my end (information I found out in KY at the beginning of the month about what happened a few weeks after with him and a friend just made me feel so much better about that). But anyways, back to the point. I joined the Prairie during the spring semester since my time was now wide open, although I didn't get too involved in anything. But I did make some beginning friendships that have blossomed this year.
I'll admit that over summer break, I REALLY didn't want to come back to WT. While I had made some decent friends, I pretty much hated the school/area and felt totally alone. If you talked to me about Texas over the summer, you probably heard how horrible this place was. And really, I still don't like the area too much but I love the school now.
When I got back from summer break, I pretty much threw myself into everything just to make the year go by faster. The first two weeks of school, I probably went to five group meetings of groups I wasn't already in. And I've stayed in all but one of those groups all semester. Between the groups and jumping head first into covering sports (where I've made more friends) I've become a whole lot more outgoing (something you have to be when you are interviewing people all the time). I also started spending a whole lot more time at school (and actually just got home about an hour ago from just chilling out there). Just by doing that, I've become a whole lot more outgoing and confident. Plus, by doing all of this stuff, I have found some stuff that I absolutely love (I honestly didn't think I would ever love something as much as I love writing about sports or taking pictures of sporting events, my job really isn't a job to me).
All of this has also changed my outlook on life. Instead of being afraid to do anything, I'm taking more chances and living more by the motto of "I'd rather have a life of 'oh wells' than a life of 'what ifs.'" I used to live thinking "Oh man, I really wish I wasn't single" and worrying about that but not taking chances to actually step out of my comfort zone to potentially not worry about that. And sure, I'd be good with not being single but at the same time, I don't really worry about it anymore. I've taken chances in that department and others and some haven't panned out but it's been something I'm glad I did in all instances so I don't/won't have any regrets. And of course, when I'm double guessing what I did, I go back to the old faithful "If it's meant to be, it'll happen".
So looking back at my progress in the year and a half I've been in small town America at WT, Dr. Browning was right, I have made major changes. And even though the first year was rough, I'm really glad I came back to WT and made the friends I did because I'm pretty sure some of them will be lifelong friends and the lessons I learn from them (and my teachers and experiences) will only help me as I move to whatever adventure awaits me in the coming years. I'm sure similar posts to this one will pop up as I look back on what I've learned from each one.
To be honest, when I came to WT last year, I was preoccupied with something else. I was in a long distance "relationship" and kind of hermitted myself up, only going to class, to the gym, and back to my room when I wasn't doing those two things. This went on for all of the first semester. I was actually working on studying abroad this year so I could be closer to him to really put effort into the relationship when it ended in January. While the break up tore me apart then, it's the best thing that could have happened to me because it wasn't really the best situation with way more give than take on my end (information I found out in KY at the beginning of the month about what happened a few weeks after with him and a friend just made me feel so much better about that). But anyways, back to the point. I joined the Prairie during the spring semester since my time was now wide open, although I didn't get too involved in anything. But I did make some beginning friendships that have blossomed this year.
I'll admit that over summer break, I REALLY didn't want to come back to WT. While I had made some decent friends, I pretty much hated the school/area and felt totally alone. If you talked to me about Texas over the summer, you probably heard how horrible this place was. And really, I still don't like the area too much but I love the school now.
When I got back from summer break, I pretty much threw myself into everything just to make the year go by faster. The first two weeks of school, I probably went to five group meetings of groups I wasn't already in. And I've stayed in all but one of those groups all semester. Between the groups and jumping head first into covering sports (where I've made more friends) I've become a whole lot more outgoing (something you have to be when you are interviewing people all the time). I also started spending a whole lot more time at school (and actually just got home about an hour ago from just chilling out there). Just by doing that, I've become a whole lot more outgoing and confident. Plus, by doing all of this stuff, I have found some stuff that I absolutely love (I honestly didn't think I would ever love something as much as I love writing about sports or taking pictures of sporting events, my job really isn't a job to me).
All of this has also changed my outlook on life. Instead of being afraid to do anything, I'm taking more chances and living more by the motto of "I'd rather have a life of 'oh wells' than a life of 'what ifs.'" I used to live thinking "Oh man, I really wish I wasn't single" and worrying about that but not taking chances to actually step out of my comfort zone to potentially not worry about that. And sure, I'd be good with not being single but at the same time, I don't really worry about it anymore. I've taken chances in that department and others and some haven't panned out but it's been something I'm glad I did in all instances so I don't/won't have any regrets. And of course, when I'm double guessing what I did, I go back to the old faithful "If it's meant to be, it'll happen".
So looking back at my progress in the year and a half I've been in small town America at WT, Dr. Browning was right, I have made major changes. And even though the first year was rough, I'm really glad I came back to WT and made the friends I did because I'm pretty sure some of them will be lifelong friends and the lessons I learn from them (and my teachers and experiences) will only help me as I move to whatever adventure awaits me in the coming years. I'm sure similar posts to this one will pop up as I look back on what I've learned from each one.
Friday, November 11, 2011
So here in the real world... I am a real journalist
It's been an extremely busy few weeks here in Melissa-land.
Three weeks ago, I made the hard decision to stay at school for an extra semester to get my minor. Graduating in May was an awesome idea but after talking to someone that does what I want the option of doing, I was advised to get the SES minor. I want the option to do everything in the sports industry, not just the journalism part so the SES minor let's me have the education to do that.
After making that decision, I loaded myself, my camera, and my computer onto a plane to Louisville where a press pass was waiting for me. If you want to talk about a once in a lifetime, amazing experience, just talk to a journalist about their first "real" gig. We did a ton of stuff off the track (I finally got to meet my favorite racehorse, Point Given) but it was the on track stuff that really made the difference.
I did get a ton of exercise by running back and forth from the press box to the track to take pictures but going to most of the winning interviews with people from Bob Baffert to Irish training legend Aidan O'Brien made it worth it. It also gave me an idea of what I want to do when I "grow up" because I loved every minute of it. It also firmed up my commitment to either go to school in Kentucky or England because both have strong racing programs. Having the press pass also made me a little stir crazy at the thought of going back to school and looking at my schedule for the next four weeks really makes me want to run away back to happy press land.
In good news, I get to cover yet another sport starting this weekend as basketball season rolls around. I'm in the camp of "I'd rather play it than watch it" but I'm sure that will change as I get farther into the season. I'm loving the opportunity to cover all these different sports and think it will be extremely valuable in the future when I'm thrown into different situations where I may not be writing about a sport I normally cover.
This year has been extremely hard schoolwise but I've had a ton of experiences I wouldn't trade for the world and I'm definitely not ready to "grow up" yet without taking advantage of a few more of them.
Three weeks ago, I made the hard decision to stay at school for an extra semester to get my minor. Graduating in May was an awesome idea but after talking to someone that does what I want the option of doing, I was advised to get the SES minor. I want the option to do everything in the sports industry, not just the journalism part so the SES minor let's me have the education to do that.
After making that decision, I loaded myself, my camera, and my computer onto a plane to Louisville where a press pass was waiting for me. If you want to talk about a once in a lifetime, amazing experience, just talk to a journalist about their first "real" gig. We did a ton of stuff off the track (I finally got to meet my favorite racehorse, Point Given) but it was the on track stuff that really made the difference.
I did get a ton of exercise by running back and forth from the press box to the track to take pictures but going to most of the winning interviews with people from Bob Baffert to Irish training legend Aidan O'Brien made it worth it. It also gave me an idea of what I want to do when I "grow up" because I loved every minute of it. It also firmed up my commitment to either go to school in Kentucky or England because both have strong racing programs. Having the press pass also made me a little stir crazy at the thought of going back to school and looking at my schedule for the next four weeks really makes me want to run away back to happy press land.
In good news, I get to cover yet another sport starting this weekend as basketball season rolls around. I'm in the camp of "I'd rather play it than watch it" but I'm sure that will change as I get farther into the season. I'm loving the opportunity to cover all these different sports and think it will be extremely valuable in the future when I'm thrown into different situations where I may not be writing about a sport I normally cover.
This year has been extremely hard schoolwise but I've had a ton of experiences I wouldn't trade for the world and I'm definitely not ready to "grow up" yet without taking advantage of a few more of them.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Media Ethics
I really hate the word ethics and what it stands for. I personally hold myself to a high standard of my own journalistic ethics of what I feel can and can't be done and pretty much refuse to break them (although, I'm sure one day there will be a time where I have to reevaluate and change some up).
But as a photojournalist, I'm still struggling with what is crossing the line and what is not. We've discussed this in my actual ethics class and my indecision on which pictures should be posted did bring up a nice discussion in the Prairie Lab.
Last week, I talked about a few incidents, including the death of a race car driver. The morning after the crash (and probably minutes after), there were pictures of the crash, including Dan Wheldon's car in the catch fence, all over the internet/papers/etc. That made me reevaluate my ethical standards for my pictures, especially one I had taken the day of the crash on the soccer field.
To most people, this looks like an awesome shot... to some people, it's a picture of the second before a girl's season ended. My issue with the picture was the second part of that sentence combined with the situation of the pictures I talked about above. The fact that she is also my friend added a third element to this.
This picture was posted on our school's photobook's facebook and is open for everyone to see, and in fact, the player commented on it and wanted us to leave it up. But before she told us that, I wondered if I should pull it due to the situation that happened right after the shot. Honestly, the thing that had me keep it up was another person telling me (toned down version) "If I didn't know the girl, I wouldn't care about what happened afterwards since it's a cool shot".
This picture taught me a ton (as did the accident that got everything started for me) both about photojournalism and just regular journalism as well. It definitely is a situation I couldn't have learned in class and throws a whole new dimension into learning about the "real world" that I could only have by being associated with the clubs I am in right now.
Until next time,
Mel
But as a photojournalist, I'm still struggling with what is crossing the line and what is not. We've discussed this in my actual ethics class and my indecision on which pictures should be posted did bring up a nice discussion in the Prairie Lab.
Last week, I talked about a few incidents, including the death of a race car driver. The morning after the crash (and probably minutes after), there were pictures of the crash, including Dan Wheldon's car in the catch fence, all over the internet/papers/etc. That made me reevaluate my ethical standards for my pictures, especially one I had taken the day of the crash on the soccer field.
To most people, this looks like an awesome shot... to some people, it's a picture of the second before a girl's season ended. My issue with the picture was the second part of that sentence combined with the situation of the pictures I talked about above. The fact that she is also my friend added a third element to this.
This picture was posted on our school's photobook's facebook and is open for everyone to see, and in fact, the player commented on it and wanted us to leave it up. But before she told us that, I wondered if I should pull it due to the situation that happened right after the shot. Honestly, the thing that had me keep it up was another person telling me (toned down version) "If I didn't know the girl, I wouldn't care about what happened afterwards since it's a cool shot".
This picture taught me a ton (as did the accident that got everything started for me) both about photojournalism and just regular journalism as well. It definitely is a situation I couldn't have learned in class and throws a whole new dimension into learning about the "real world" that I could only have by being associated with the clubs I am in right now.
Until next time,
Mel
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I Love Sports But...
I thought about writing a post on Friday with a totally different theme and I probably should have because today, my feelings on being involved in sports isn't in the best place.
I truly love what I do and wouldn't give it up for anything but this weekend has been the test of tests when it comes to testing my devotion. On Friday I was on the high of highs. Yes, I was covering girls soccer and they lost but just being on the sidelines taking pictures and writing the story about them reminded me how much I love this.
But on Saturday morning, the first test came about. I met a racehorse in Kentucky last November that I instantly fell in love with. She was injured at the time but I've been following her progress closely since one of my good friends works with her. She was getting ready for a comeback and put in an awesome work a few weeks ago and I was hoping to see her run when I went back to KY in a few weeks. Apparently the sport gods have a great sense of humor since I woke up to a text saying Hayley had broke down. While my friend did tell me that she should survive, waiting for word that she would almost positively survive was an extremely long and unnerving experience. This follows on the heels of learning that two of my favorites died a few weeks back. If there's any test of how big a fan you are of horse racing, having multiple break downs/deaths is it.
Next was on the field today. Someone I consider a pretty good friend now that I've got to know her is on the team and when she went to take a shot, she collapsed due to a knee injury. Seeing not only an athlete in a team you've grown fond of but a friend hurt makes you rethink things, especially when you've already been tested once this weekend. Injuries happen, it's a fact of sports and something I've come to expect. But since I feel like I've lived with this team in and out every weekend, it's still tough to see them hurt, especially when they have had a good weekend so far. Test two complete and passed.
Test three reminded me of something I experienced almost exactly 10 and a half years ago when everyone in motorsports held their breath waiting for an update on Dale Earnhardt Sr. after a bad wreck. This time I hadn't actually seen the wreck live but had gotten tweets about a big IndyCar wreck followed by bad scenes from the Dan Wheldon car and finally news that he'd been taken to the hospital and was unconscious but his vitals were strong. I won't lie, as soon as the soccer game was over, I hurried and did my interviews then raced to the lab so I could watch the coverage.
Before the Indy 500 (where I had to do a series of Indy articles for my internship) I hadn't followed IndyCars closely but I knew who Wheldon was and seeing his interviews made me think I could take on the world, he just had that sort of energy. I knew when they were setting up a press conference it probably wasn't good news and when I saw the faces of drivers and crew after the drivers meeting I knew what was coming but didn't want to believe it, even when multiple reliable sources tweeted the news that hadn't been given officially. I'll admit that the second ABC officially announced it, I left the room and broke down. When I finally saw the crash for the first time (and multiple times since TV can never just show that stuff once) I couldn't believe it. That image will be seared in my head forever.
And to add insult to injury, off road racers Rick and Jeff Huseman died in a plane crash on way to CA from Vegas as well today. The motorsports world has had an extremely tough day that will be thought of for ages.
We know when these guys (and girls) step into the car every weekend, there's a chance they may not come out, but we also try to push that to the back of our minds each week and just not think about it. But it still hurts when the reality that this did happen hits. I remember the hellish week/month/season the motorsports community went through after Sr's death, and I'm really not looking forward to it in the next few weeks.
So to end this post, while the stuff that happened has drastically altered how I feel at this point in time, I feel it has made me stronger as a sports fan and a sports writer. If I can survive stuff like this and continue to write and love what I do, I don't think anything can take my desire away. But just in case the sports gods are listening... please don't test that. We've had our three bad things happen in sports (and motorsports got their three things out of the way) so please leave us alone. And to whatever higher power is out there, please keep all the drivers safe at Talladega, the motorsports world (and sports world in general) can't take any more.
I truly love what I do and wouldn't give it up for anything but this weekend has been the test of tests when it comes to testing my devotion. On Friday I was on the high of highs. Yes, I was covering girls soccer and they lost but just being on the sidelines taking pictures and writing the story about them reminded me how much I love this.
But on Saturday morning, the first test came about. I met a racehorse in Kentucky last November that I instantly fell in love with. She was injured at the time but I've been following her progress closely since one of my good friends works with her. She was getting ready for a comeback and put in an awesome work a few weeks ago and I was hoping to see her run when I went back to KY in a few weeks. Apparently the sport gods have a great sense of humor since I woke up to a text saying Hayley had broke down. While my friend did tell me that she should survive, waiting for word that she would almost positively survive was an extremely long and unnerving experience. This follows on the heels of learning that two of my favorites died a few weeks back. If there's any test of how big a fan you are of horse racing, having multiple break downs/deaths is it.
Next was on the field today. Someone I consider a pretty good friend now that I've got to know her is on the team and when she went to take a shot, she collapsed due to a knee injury. Seeing not only an athlete in a team you've grown fond of but a friend hurt makes you rethink things, especially when you've already been tested once this weekend. Injuries happen, it's a fact of sports and something I've come to expect. But since I feel like I've lived with this team in and out every weekend, it's still tough to see them hurt, especially when they have had a good weekend so far. Test two complete and passed.
Test three reminded me of something I experienced almost exactly 10 and a half years ago when everyone in motorsports held their breath waiting for an update on Dale Earnhardt Sr. after a bad wreck. This time I hadn't actually seen the wreck live but had gotten tweets about a big IndyCar wreck followed by bad scenes from the Dan Wheldon car and finally news that he'd been taken to the hospital and was unconscious but his vitals were strong. I won't lie, as soon as the soccer game was over, I hurried and did my interviews then raced to the lab so I could watch the coverage.
Before the Indy 500 (where I had to do a series of Indy articles for my internship) I hadn't followed IndyCars closely but I knew who Wheldon was and seeing his interviews made me think I could take on the world, he just had that sort of energy. I knew when they were setting up a press conference it probably wasn't good news and when I saw the faces of drivers and crew after the drivers meeting I knew what was coming but didn't want to believe it, even when multiple reliable sources tweeted the news that hadn't been given officially. I'll admit that the second ABC officially announced it, I left the room and broke down. When I finally saw the crash for the first time (and multiple times since TV can never just show that stuff once) I couldn't believe it. That image will be seared in my head forever.
And to add insult to injury, off road racers Rick and Jeff Huseman died in a plane crash on way to CA from Vegas as well today. The motorsports world has had an extremely tough day that will be thought of for ages.
We know when these guys (and girls) step into the car every weekend, there's a chance they may not come out, but we also try to push that to the back of our minds each week and just not think about it. But it still hurts when the reality that this did happen hits. I remember the hellish week/month/season the motorsports community went through after Sr's death, and I'm really not looking forward to it in the next few weeks.
So to end this post, while the stuff that happened has drastically altered how I feel at this point in time, I feel it has made me stronger as a sports fan and a sports writer. If I can survive stuff like this and continue to write and love what I do, I don't think anything can take my desire away. But just in case the sports gods are listening... please don't test that. We've had our three bad things happen in sports (and motorsports got their three things out of the way) so please leave us alone. And to whatever higher power is out there, please keep all the drivers safe at Talladega, the motorsports world (and sports world in general) can't take any more.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Senior Insanity
When I was a senior in high school, I thought my schedule was insane. I was on two sports teams, going to college full time, still taking college classes, and doing the senior graduation stuff. However, that doesn't even come close to this semester, granted some of the busyness is my own fault.
This semester I am taking 16 credits which doesn't sound like a lot but two of them are extremely high level classes that I need to do well at and understand. Both of these classes also have huge group projects. While my group hasn't even thought about starting the project in the major class (we should probably get on that), my other group has been meeting at 9pm every wednesday night since the second week of school. I'm a night owl, but doing school stuff at 9pm fries my brain.
However, I did just get through two incredibly busy weeks and survived (yay me!) where I had to take 4 tests (4 out of my 6 classes had tests within a week period, with two falling on the same day, that was painful), spend one weekend writing four articles (including two sports I have never written about before), spend another week basically camped out at the Pitch since we had back to back soccer games on Friday and Sunday, and topped those two weeks off with a student run conference that we gave to high schoolers followed by kicking off homecoming today with a campus clean up at 8:30. A few of those days this week found me not getting home from school until late at night and getting up early the next morning. Needless to say, I'm a bit tired and getting ready to sleep for a good 9-10 hours.
While I love my school and major this year and the year is flying by, I seem to be telling myself every week "next week will be calmer" then getting to it and finding out that no, it's really not even calmer, it's even more packed. Thankfully this week is just packed with sports stuff, not school stuff so I can relax a bit since the sports thing is almost second nature to me now.
But with these busy weeks have come little time for my horse, which I feel really guilt about. At the beginning of the semester up until last week, I rode at least every other day and even had a long streak of daily rides going. However, last week I only got her out one time, not the best record. The ironic thing about that is that I just wrote an article 2-3 weeks ago about the responsibilities of having a horse at college and a big thing I talked about was exercise. Maybe I should follow my own advice.
Next week I definitely will be penciling in more ride time when I build my schedule for the week, which means I see more late night lab parties in my future. Between studying for the GRE (which I take on the 14th), keeping up with homework (which thankfully is minimal outside of the group work, even if it is time intensive), going to group meetings (I'm in four groups this semester, not too smart), and taking care of my horse, I have a feeling I'm going to keep trying to convince myself that "next week will be easier" for the rest of the semester.
I definitely got my wish for this year to go faster but I wish it would let me take a breather every now and again.
This semester I am taking 16 credits which doesn't sound like a lot but two of them are extremely high level classes that I need to do well at and understand. Both of these classes also have huge group projects. While my group hasn't even thought about starting the project in the major class (we should probably get on that), my other group has been meeting at 9pm every wednesday night since the second week of school. I'm a night owl, but doing school stuff at 9pm fries my brain.
However, I did just get through two incredibly busy weeks and survived (yay me!) where I had to take 4 tests (4 out of my 6 classes had tests within a week period, with two falling on the same day, that was painful), spend one weekend writing four articles (including two sports I have never written about before), spend another week basically camped out at the Pitch since we had back to back soccer games on Friday and Sunday, and topped those two weeks off with a student run conference that we gave to high schoolers followed by kicking off homecoming today with a campus clean up at 8:30. A few of those days this week found me not getting home from school until late at night and getting up early the next morning. Needless to say, I'm a bit tired and getting ready to sleep for a good 9-10 hours.
While I love my school and major this year and the year is flying by, I seem to be telling myself every week "next week will be calmer" then getting to it and finding out that no, it's really not even calmer, it's even more packed. Thankfully this week is just packed with sports stuff, not school stuff so I can relax a bit since the sports thing is almost second nature to me now.
But with these busy weeks have come little time for my horse, which I feel really guilt about. At the beginning of the semester up until last week, I rode at least every other day and even had a long streak of daily rides going. However, last week I only got her out one time, not the best record. The ironic thing about that is that I just wrote an article 2-3 weeks ago about the responsibilities of having a horse at college and a big thing I talked about was exercise. Maybe I should follow my own advice.
Next week I definitely will be penciling in more ride time when I build my schedule for the week, which means I see more late night lab parties in my future. Between studying for the GRE (which I take on the 14th), keeping up with homework (which thankfully is minimal outside of the group work, even if it is time intensive), going to group meetings (I'm in four groups this semester, not too smart), and taking care of my horse, I have a feeling I'm going to keep trying to convince myself that "next week will be easier" for the rest of the semester.
I definitely got my wish for this year to go faster but I wish it would let me take a breather every now and again.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Goals Have Been Reached
Earlier this summer, I posted about wanting to write about a wider range of sports and step out of my comfort zone a little bit.
While I wasn't able to write about tennis since we don't have a team here at school, just this past week I covered three different school sports with soccer, volleyball, and an equestrian event. I'm still looking to expand my sports resume but that will have to wait a while as I've already covered most of the fall sports.
I may not feel 100% comfortable covering all of these sports but I definitely can't say that I'm a one sport girl anymore.
While I wasn't able to write about tennis since we don't have a team here at school, just this past week I covered three different school sports with soccer, volleyball, and an equestrian event. I'm still looking to expand my sports resume but that will have to wait a while as I've already covered most of the fall sports.
I may not feel 100% comfortable covering all of these sports but I definitely can't say that I'm a one sport girl anymore.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wow, the first three weeks of school are flying by. I only have two more days of classes this week, which is really crazy, but that's what happens when you keep yourself busy.
I've been joining clubs, going to soccer games every weekend (I have reached my goal of writing about soccer since that's what I'm covering for the school paper), and looking at grad schools. While I am still applying for a few overseas, I am also applying for a few in Kentucky as well as that's where I want to end up (yes things have changed).
Honestly, there's not much to report on any front right now since even though it's hectic, there's not much interesting going on. Hopefully I'll have more later on.
Until next time,
Mel
I've been joining clubs, going to soccer games every weekend (I have reached my goal of writing about soccer since that's what I'm covering for the school paper), and looking at grad schools. While I am still applying for a few overseas, I am also applying for a few in Kentucky as well as that's where I want to end up (yes things have changed).
Honestly, there's not much to report on any front right now since even though it's hectic, there's not much interesting going on. Hopefully I'll have more later on.
Until next time,
Mel
Monday, August 22, 2011
Road Trip Thoughts
First of all, my horse is amazing. We just finished up a two and a half day 1,700 mile road trip and there was no fuss at all on her end. Since she has only been hauled about five miles since March of 2010 (and that was t0 the vet three weeks ago to get her travel papers), I was expecting at least some fuss. But even when she had to sit in the trailer for four hours while we got a blow out repaired, we didn't know she was there other than her sticking out her head at the tire shop to watch everything going on.
Sure, we had a small trailer loading issue the next day (if you had to stand in a trailer for 15 hours straight then just get an eight hour break before getting back in, you'd probably be mad), but after a little tap on the butt from the whip, she jumped right in. I was expecting major problems loading due to her very inconsistent trailering past but once again this horse surprises me.
I really can't wait to see what she does when I actually get to spend some time on her. She will get a few days off to acclimate to the weather and elevation but I'm hoping to get on her later this week just to get her out of her small pen and let her chill out while exploring more of her surroundings.
Now on to the non-horse stuff.
I am finally moved into my room, although there is a ton of unpacking to do. I did get a makeshift dresser built (tuberwear drawers come in handy) and my book case up (although, I need to put more books on it) but I still need a desk and to get my school stuff unpacked. I can't really unpack until I have a desk, so everything is a bit on hold right now. At the same time, I don't feel like writing without a desk (I know, bad me), so that desk is super important. Maybe I'll put that on my list for tomorrow.
In good writing news, I have a new story kind of outlined so at least that's something. Well that's about all I have to say tonight so good bye non-existent readers. Enjoy the last week of summer break (unless you work or started school today. In that case, I'm sorry).
Sure, we had a small trailer loading issue the next day (if you had to stand in a trailer for 15 hours straight then just get an eight hour break before getting back in, you'd probably be mad), but after a little tap on the butt from the whip, she jumped right in. I was expecting major problems loading due to her very inconsistent trailering past but once again this horse surprises me.
I really can't wait to see what she does when I actually get to spend some time on her. She will get a few days off to acclimate to the weather and elevation but I'm hoping to get on her later this week just to get her out of her small pen and let her chill out while exploring more of her surroundings.
Now on to the non-horse stuff.
I am finally moved into my room, although there is a ton of unpacking to do. I did get a makeshift dresser built (tuberwear drawers come in handy) and my book case up (although, I need to put more books on it) but I still need a desk and to get my school stuff unpacked. I can't really unpack until I have a desk, so everything is a bit on hold right now. At the same time, I don't feel like writing without a desk (I know, bad me), so that desk is super important. Maybe I'll put that on my list for tomorrow.
In good writing news, I have a new story kind of outlined so at least that's something. Well that's about all I have to say tonight so good bye non-existent readers. Enjoy the last week of summer break (unless you work or started school today. In that case, I'm sorry).
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Superstitions
As a very superstitious person, I'm one that has some of those crazy avoidances (for example, if I can help it, I don't walk under ladders and am pretty sure I will die if I do) and I found myself breaking a few of my superstitions over the last few months that have come back to bite me.
Over the years, I've come to believe that if I write something down or say it, most of the time it will not happen. Say I want to go somewhere for the weekend. I can have it all planned out and at the last second something is almost guaranteed to make it not happen. Unfortunately, I forgot this little detail that I let have an impact on my life (yes, when you keep having this issue over the years, it's kind of ingrained in your brain that you keep your mouth... and your fingers closed) over the summer and let two things slide.
1) I told people I would be back in Texas by August 20, that was a mistake as the date of departure from Washington with basically all my important possessions (minus my cat and a very fat, retired horse) was moved back to the day before the 20th. If you've driven from Washington to Texas, you know making it there in one day, especially when pulling a horse trailer with a not so fat and not so retired horse, is not possible. I don't really mind the setback as I'm not all that eager to move back to a place that is currently hotter than hell, but it would have been nice to have a little time off before school starts back up again.
2) I talked to my friends about this one and I posted it on this very blog... grad school. In my last post, I said two grad schools in Canada and two in the UK were all I was going to apply for. Hello jinx. Because I like to look around, that two in the UK has now gone up to at least three, if not more. While this betters my odds of getting in over there (and a few schools are very willing to let me do the equine journalism thing in their program and one even has equine degrees at the school), it adds to a whole lot more pressure doing applications.
So note to self, avoid ladders, try not to have black cats in front of you, and don't say anything out loud or write it if you are really serious about it because it bites you in the butt!
Until next time,
Your very superstitious friend.
Over the years, I've come to believe that if I write something down or say it, most of the time it will not happen. Say I want to go somewhere for the weekend. I can have it all planned out and at the last second something is almost guaranteed to make it not happen. Unfortunately, I forgot this little detail that I let have an impact on my life (yes, when you keep having this issue over the years, it's kind of ingrained in your brain that you keep your mouth... and your fingers closed) over the summer and let two things slide.
1) I told people I would be back in Texas by August 20, that was a mistake as the date of departure from Washington with basically all my important possessions (minus my cat and a very fat, retired horse) was moved back to the day before the 20th. If you've driven from Washington to Texas, you know making it there in one day, especially when pulling a horse trailer with a not so fat and not so retired horse, is not possible. I don't really mind the setback as I'm not all that eager to move back to a place that is currently hotter than hell, but it would have been nice to have a little time off before school starts back up again.
2) I talked to my friends about this one and I posted it on this very blog... grad school. In my last post, I said two grad schools in Canada and two in the UK were all I was going to apply for. Hello jinx. Because I like to look around, that two in the UK has now gone up to at least three, if not more. While this betters my odds of getting in over there (and a few schools are very willing to let me do the equine journalism thing in their program and one even has equine degrees at the school), it adds to a whole lot more pressure doing applications.
So note to self, avoid ladders, try not to have black cats in front of you, and don't say anything out loud or write it if you are really serious about it because it bites you in the butt!
Until next time,
Your very superstitious friend.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A Weekend off Is Not a Weekend Off
I went to our cabin (and a NASCAR race) this weekend with the goal of shutting off my brain to all real life related thoughts.
I had literally spent all week trying to get everything done so on friday, I could load up and head to the family and friends retreat we had planned (okay, my mom and stepdad, some friends from Seattle, and two cousins from seattle as well) with no problems. Well... me being me, I didn't get everything done during the week (I definitely tried my hardest though!) so I worked on school stuff until 2pm. You'd think I'd head straight out of town, right? Yea, I'm not that smart.
First I had to go to dad's to clean out my car, followed by checking the oil and such, add a call to my dad after checking oil to ask if he had any oil then waiting for him since he was picking me up some (we did find out that he had oil after he bought some), the wait was highlighted by washing my car (poor Betty was extremely dirty, I think she planned the oil thing so she'd get washed), then I had to do another errand after leaving my dad's... the final result, leaving town around 5 and making it to the trailer by about 6.
The drive up to the trailer was the start of the end... if you know me when I'm working on my stories, I am constantly thinking about them. What can I change? Why is this character so blah? Can I kill this character off? All go through my mind ALL THE TIME. But this year we're also joined by the grad school questions. See, I thought graduating with my bachelors would be easy. Graduate, pick a grad school, apply, the end. Kids, that's not how it works.
I have three places that I want to go to school, England (I'm not picky, put me on that island or on the Irish island and I'm happy), British Columbia, and Toronto. Yes, I realize how different these places are. The end result is that my brain can't decide. I'm a pro/con list kind of girl, it's hard when all the areas and schools have the same amount of pros or cons. So, going back on my "everything happens for a reason" theory that I love to live by (yes, I am one of THOSE people that tries to think that even when bad things happen) I think I've convinced my brain to just settle down, apply to all four schools I'm looking at (2 in England, 2 in Canada, hopefully no others pop up), and hope that they decide for me. If not, it can start worrying again. Don't tell it, but I kind of want to do the worrying thing since that means I got into more than one.
Another thought this weekend consisted of school since I have three tests this week with two finals and a regular class test. Thanks for that, teachers. I also have my three assigned articles for the week and my on call day. I'm shooting to get this all done by Thursday afternoon, wish me luck.
And finally, the last thought was about my story that I've been working on since I was born (okay, just last year but it feels like 22 years). I'm pushing for an edit done date of August 14th and my brain is spazzing out. I love to write and re-reading my "babies" after they are written is fun but editing is kind of like voluntarily sticking yourself in the eye with a needle at times. However, I LOVE this story and really want it to succeed (and possibly even open it up for a series down the road) so I'm pushing on. Because of this, my brain did not want to forget about it for a weekend.
So overall, while this blog post wasn't supposed to happen because my brain was supposed to be down for maintenance for the weekend, instead, y'all get this nice mumbo jumbo that my brain decided to throw together for your entertainment and to release its frustrations at the internal argument about vacation. We'll be trying another one soon, maybe my brain will finally get the memo.
Until next time,
Mel
I had literally spent all week trying to get everything done so on friday, I could load up and head to the family and friends retreat we had planned (okay, my mom and stepdad, some friends from Seattle, and two cousins from seattle as well) with no problems. Well... me being me, I didn't get everything done during the week (I definitely tried my hardest though!) so I worked on school stuff until 2pm. You'd think I'd head straight out of town, right? Yea, I'm not that smart.
First I had to go to dad's to clean out my car, followed by checking the oil and such, add a call to my dad after checking oil to ask if he had any oil then waiting for him since he was picking me up some (we did find out that he had oil after he bought some), the wait was highlighted by washing my car (poor Betty was extremely dirty, I think she planned the oil thing so she'd get washed), then I had to do another errand after leaving my dad's... the final result, leaving town around 5 and making it to the trailer by about 6.
The drive up to the trailer was the start of the end... if you know me when I'm working on my stories, I am constantly thinking about them. What can I change? Why is this character so blah? Can I kill this character off? All go through my mind ALL THE TIME. But this year we're also joined by the grad school questions. See, I thought graduating with my bachelors would be easy. Graduate, pick a grad school, apply, the end. Kids, that's not how it works.
I have three places that I want to go to school, England (I'm not picky, put me on that island or on the Irish island and I'm happy), British Columbia, and Toronto. Yes, I realize how different these places are. The end result is that my brain can't decide. I'm a pro/con list kind of girl, it's hard when all the areas and schools have the same amount of pros or cons. So, going back on my "everything happens for a reason" theory that I love to live by (yes, I am one of THOSE people that tries to think that even when bad things happen) I think I've convinced my brain to just settle down, apply to all four schools I'm looking at (2 in England, 2 in Canada, hopefully no others pop up), and hope that they decide for me. If not, it can start worrying again. Don't tell it, but I kind of want to do the worrying thing since that means I got into more than one.
Another thought this weekend consisted of school since I have three tests this week with two finals and a regular class test. Thanks for that, teachers. I also have my three assigned articles for the week and my on call day. I'm shooting to get this all done by Thursday afternoon, wish me luck.
And finally, the last thought was about my story that I've been working on since I was born (okay, just last year but it feels like 22 years). I'm pushing for an edit done date of August 14th and my brain is spazzing out. I love to write and re-reading my "babies" after they are written is fun but editing is kind of like voluntarily sticking yourself in the eye with a needle at times. However, I LOVE this story and really want it to succeed (and possibly even open it up for a series down the road) so I'm pushing on. Because of this, my brain did not want to forget about it for a weekend.
So overall, while this blog post wasn't supposed to happen because my brain was supposed to be down for maintenance for the weekend, instead, y'all get this nice mumbo jumbo that my brain decided to throw together for your entertainment and to release its frustrations at the internal argument about vacation. We'll be trying another one soon, maybe my brain will finally get the memo.
Until next time,
Mel
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
School, Journalism, and Novels
You know those times where you are so busy that it seems like you are just in one long day with a series of little naps? Welcome to my life. I'm wrapping up an 11 hour day of writing articles and schoolwork right now and will spend a little while longer editing a novel I've had stored away and finished for over a year.
We've entered what I like to call the "Week of Doom" every semester with finals and projects due in addition to regular homework. Technically, finals are next week but they've enjoyed creeping into this week and I'm hoping that means they'll be light after Friday. In addition, I started two new classes last week so I'm dealing with that as well and am working on a scholarship application for England that I have to have to my adviser by a week from Monday.
However, on the fun work front of my summer, I've been writing articles like mad and just submitted my last assigned one for the week about an hour ago. I'm still waiting for another one I posted earlier this afternoon to be published but it looks like its gone to never-never land, I'm really hoping that's not the case since I forgot to save it. I'm also toying with the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone and in to soccer and tennis land at some point but a bit more research is needed before I do that. I want to get a wider range of sports under my belt so that's one of my goals for this coming year.
On the hobby writing part of things, I've pulled up a story I labored over last summer so I can edit and hopefully find an agent for it. I love the story so I'm hoping I can present it good enough that someone will fall in love with it too. I want to get it edited and query letters sent off before I go back to school in the fall so I just have three more weeks to work on it.
There isn't much on the horse front to write about since I'm basically only taking my weekly lessons (which the week of doom made me cancel this week) and have spent very limited time with my ponies so we'll skip that.
Until next time,
Mel
We've entered what I like to call the "Week of Doom" every semester with finals and projects due in addition to regular homework. Technically, finals are next week but they've enjoyed creeping into this week and I'm hoping that means they'll be light after Friday. In addition, I started two new classes last week so I'm dealing with that as well and am working on a scholarship application for England that I have to have to my adviser by a week from Monday.
However, on the fun work front of my summer, I've been writing articles like mad and just submitted my last assigned one for the week about an hour ago. I'm still waiting for another one I posted earlier this afternoon to be published but it looks like its gone to never-never land, I'm really hoping that's not the case since I forgot to save it. I'm also toying with the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone and in to soccer and tennis land at some point but a bit more research is needed before I do that. I want to get a wider range of sports under my belt so that's one of my goals for this coming year.
On the hobby writing part of things, I've pulled up a story I labored over last summer so I can edit and hopefully find an agent for it. I love the story so I'm hoping I can present it good enough that someone will fall in love with it too. I want to get it edited and query letters sent off before I go back to school in the fall so I just have three more weeks to work on it.
There isn't much on the horse front to write about since I'm basically only taking my weekly lessons (which the week of doom made me cancel this week) and have spent very limited time with my ponies so we'll skip that.
Until next time,
Mel
Monday, June 13, 2011
Journalism and Dressage Queen
I am a journalism and dressage Queen!
Okay, not really but it felt good to say it.
Last week was an insane writing week. On top of my regular internship assignments, I also helped cover the Belmont Stakes, which I loved doing. I'm a huge racing fan (well really, I'm a huge horse fan so anything horsey, I love covering) so taking on those assignments made my week. This week, it's back to the normal grind of school and my internship but with Royal Ascot starting in the morning, I think I may do some international racing coverage on the side.
Now to the riding side of things.
Vegas gets adjusted by the chiropractor this week and I'm hoping that will help the little attitude problem we've been having. While she acts more like a four-year-old under saddle since she hasn't been rode all that much, our issues over the last few weeks have been more than just baby problems so its back to the physical drawing board. If the chiro doesn't help then we'll go back and work on her teeth, but I'm really hoping the chiro does the trick. I guess we'll find out later this week.
And to my dressage queen statement from the beginning of the blog. I took my first dressage lesson today and had a blast. I'm sure I'll be super sore tomorrow and will hate life from that standpoint but I'll be back to torturing myself in two weeks at my next lesson. I've gotten kind of tired of the western riding thing so going to english is a breath of fresh air, plus I've always found dressage fascinating to watch (watch the video below to get hooked) so riding it makes it even better. Vegas hasn't been subjected to dressage yet and she's probably happy about that but she will soon enough. I'm not sure she'll know what to think after going western for the past four years. After I get the dressage down, maybe we'll try jumping!
Okay, not really but it felt good to say it.
Last week was an insane writing week. On top of my regular internship assignments, I also helped cover the Belmont Stakes, which I loved doing. I'm a huge racing fan (well really, I'm a huge horse fan so anything horsey, I love covering) so taking on those assignments made my week. This week, it's back to the normal grind of school and my internship but with Royal Ascot starting in the morning, I think I may do some international racing coverage on the side.
Now to the riding side of things.
Vegas gets adjusted by the chiropractor this week and I'm hoping that will help the little attitude problem we've been having. While she acts more like a four-year-old under saddle since she hasn't been rode all that much, our issues over the last few weeks have been more than just baby problems so its back to the physical drawing board. If the chiro doesn't help then we'll go back and work on her teeth, but I'm really hoping the chiro does the trick. I guess we'll find out later this week.
And to my dressage queen statement from the beginning of the blog. I took my first dressage lesson today and had a blast. I'm sure I'll be super sore tomorrow and will hate life from that standpoint but I'll be back to torturing myself in two weeks at my next lesson. I've gotten kind of tired of the western riding thing so going to english is a breath of fresh air, plus I've always found dressage fascinating to watch (watch the video below to get hooked) so riding it makes it even better. Vegas hasn't been subjected to dressage yet and she's probably happy about that but she will soon enough. I'm not sure she'll know what to think after going western for the past four years. After I get the dressage down, maybe we'll try jumping!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Growing Up Is Hard
Yep, I said it. I'm rapidly approaching my (hopefully) last year of my bachelors (where is summer going so quickly?) and its about time to really look at graduate schools. You know how high school kids get so excited to pick colleges? Let me tell you, it's not the same for grad schools. I've been looking near and far (England far) and while I've found ones that I really like, it's one of those "Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to die" moments whenever I really consider it. I'm giving myself until mid-July to put a list together. One of the big questions about that is; do I want to leave the country? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
On the other front, my "don't think about grad school" time is riding time. Before this summer, I hadn't really rode since March of 2010 and I was hurt then so I didn't ride the best. I have a REALLY nice six year old sitting in my pasture that needs time put on her and she hadn't really gotten the attention that she needed since the last few years I've been really busy and have put her on the back burner most of the time. But when I did get around to riding her, it was always focusing on barrels. Barrels this, barrels that and not the foundation that she needed to be a well rounded horse.
Well since I'm in the middle of "musical disciplines" mode (do I want to do barrels anymore? maybe I should try jumping or dressage, etc), I'm focusing on make her well rounded and getting those fundamentals that I ignored on the way to the barrel pen. Don't get me wrong, she's well broke and can do a lot of stuff but she's more at the 4yo level than the 6yo level. She can do almost everything you ask (rollbacks are a bit hard still but we're getting there), she just hasn't mastered most of it. So this is the summer of focusing on making an all around, well broke horse. Just another thing to add to my already busy summer but at least it is a fun part!
School, internship, horse, grad school... are we sure its summer time?
On the other front, my "don't think about grad school" time is riding time. Before this summer, I hadn't really rode since March of 2010 and I was hurt then so I didn't ride the best. I have a REALLY nice six year old sitting in my pasture that needs time put on her and she hadn't really gotten the attention that she needed since the last few years I've been really busy and have put her on the back burner most of the time. But when I did get around to riding her, it was always focusing on barrels. Barrels this, barrels that and not the foundation that she needed to be a well rounded horse.
Well since I'm in the middle of "musical disciplines" mode (do I want to do barrels anymore? maybe I should try jumping or dressage, etc), I'm focusing on make her well rounded and getting those fundamentals that I ignored on the way to the barrel pen. Don't get me wrong, she's well broke and can do a lot of stuff but she's more at the 4yo level than the 6yo level. She can do almost everything you ask (rollbacks are a bit hard still but we're getting there), she just hasn't mastered most of it. So this is the summer of focusing on making an all around, well broke horse. Just another thing to add to my already busy summer but at least it is a fun part!
School, internship, horse, grad school... are we sure its summer time?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Goals & Motivation Are A Good Thing. Lack of Patience, Not So Much
First off, Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Thank you to those who serve, have served, or will serve for keeping us free.
Next, this seems like the perfect day to post this blog because of it's big topic and how it relates to me and our country.
I am one of those people that needs a hard and fast goal to focus on to try my hardest. If I have a general goal like "Graduate school" I only put some effort into it but if I make a solid goal, I throw myself into it and focus on what needs to be done to reach it. Since I was really young, I've wanted to serve the United States in some way. 9/11 pushed that motivation farther than I would ever have imagined and I planned on enrolling in the military the second I turned 18. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control prevented me from doing that (yes, I know I have recourse for it, etc but I've never been one to use my circumstance to say "hey, I should have that" and I didn't want to take on the military when they have other things to worry about) so I started searching for other ways to serve my country. For a while, I looked into an international relations degree but upon research, I found out it wouldn't do all that much towards my goal. Enter the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Everyone knows that I'm a big sports bluff and love writing but before the Olympics, it had never crossed my mind that these things could be combined into a career. It also never crossed my mind that sports could also help international relations until I paid attention to the news during the Olympics. Surprising to me at the time, the Olympics are more than a sporting event where the world unites, this event strengthens relations between countries (and in each country itself but that's another point for another day). So there you have it, I have my new plan to do something for my country and it may be even more productive than the military. I want to work for a US National team of some sort or even our Olympic committee to help strengthen and build our relations with other countries. So now I have my solid goal to work towards and I'm excited to see where it takes me.
Now enter the lack of patience. If you know me, you know I am one of the most impatient people in the world. I don't want to wait two years to do something, I expect it to happen and to go right right now! This often leads to a grumpy attitude (something that I really need to work on) that sours up whatever experience I am having. That's what happened to my first year at West Texas A & M. I've been in college since 2006 and my brain tells me I should be done and moving on to grad school. This makes the rest of my body impatient and brings on the whole "I don't care about anything, I just want to be done" thing. You could say that it really soured up the whole 2010-2011 school year because I wanted to be done. So remember that solid goal from above? A part of it is to have patience. I guess we'll see how long it lasts because it's definitely a huge weakness of mine but I figure if I keep myself busy, I won't have time to focus on the "living in fast forward" thoughts I have.
Next, this seems like the perfect day to post this blog because of it's big topic and how it relates to me and our country.
I am one of those people that needs a hard and fast goal to focus on to try my hardest. If I have a general goal like "Graduate school" I only put some effort into it but if I make a solid goal, I throw myself into it and focus on what needs to be done to reach it. Since I was really young, I've wanted to serve the United States in some way. 9/11 pushed that motivation farther than I would ever have imagined and I planned on enrolling in the military the second I turned 18. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control prevented me from doing that (yes, I know I have recourse for it, etc but I've never been one to use my circumstance to say "hey, I should have that" and I didn't want to take on the military when they have other things to worry about) so I started searching for other ways to serve my country. For a while, I looked into an international relations degree but upon research, I found out it wouldn't do all that much towards my goal. Enter the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Everyone knows that I'm a big sports bluff and love writing but before the Olympics, it had never crossed my mind that these things could be combined into a career. It also never crossed my mind that sports could also help international relations until I paid attention to the news during the Olympics. Surprising to me at the time, the Olympics are more than a sporting event where the world unites, this event strengthens relations between countries (and in each country itself but that's another point for another day). So there you have it, I have my new plan to do something for my country and it may be even more productive than the military. I want to work for a US National team of some sort or even our Olympic committee to help strengthen and build our relations with other countries. So now I have my solid goal to work towards and I'm excited to see where it takes me.
Now enter the lack of patience. If you know me, you know I am one of the most impatient people in the world. I don't want to wait two years to do something, I expect it to happen and to go right right now! This often leads to a grumpy attitude (something that I really need to work on) that sours up whatever experience I am having. That's what happened to my first year at West Texas A & M. I've been in college since 2006 and my brain tells me I should be done and moving on to grad school. This makes the rest of my body impatient and brings on the whole "I don't care about anything, I just want to be done" thing. You could say that it really soured up the whole 2010-2011 school year because I wanted to be done. So remember that solid goal from above? A part of it is to have patience. I guess we'll see how long it lasts because it's definitely a huge weakness of mine but I figure if I keep myself busy, I won't have time to focus on the "living in fast forward" thoughts I have.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Matt Cooke's Suspension
By now if you follow hockey, you've heard about Matt Cooke's hit on Ryan McDonagh that happened on March 20th (if not, see below). You've probably also heard about the suspension, but if not, let me enlighten you.
Cooke was suspended for the rest of the regular season (10 games) plus the first round of the playoffs, so a potential 17 games. I'll be honest, I was just expecting 10 games for him but the NHL had to make an example out of a head hit since it was a huge topic of conversation at last week's GM meetings. But I also think that the suspension by the league isn't nearly as damaging as the punishment from the Penguins may be. Shero released a comment soon after the NHL's ruling and it makes me feel that something is brewing in the Pens' head office.
"The suspension is warranted because that's exactly the kind of hit we're trying to get out of the game. Head shots have no place in hockey. We've told Matt in no uncertain terms that this kind of action on the ice is unacceptable and cannot happen. Head shots must be dealt with severely, and the Pittsburgh Penguins support the NHL in sending this very strong message." (NHL.com)
The part that sticks out most to me is:
"We've told Matt in no uncertain terms that this kind of action on the ice is unacceptable and cannot happen."
Matt Cooke is known for dirty hits and was hit with a suspension earlier this year because of the same kind of behavior in addition to a dirty hit on Marc Savard last year that went unpunished. Mario Lemieux has come out with statements talking about changes on the ice in relation to hits and getting rid of Cooke makes a statement that he is dead serious about the issue. With over three hits in the past year, I'm thinking "Cookie" can say bye bye to his Pens jersey soon.
I have no doubt that if Cooke gets released, someone else will snatch him up. He is a good player when he plays clean, it's just keeping his game clean that is the hard (if not impossible) part. But I feel that if he doesn't shape up soon, he will be saying bye bye to the NHL and trying to find ice time somewhere else.
Is this a bad thing? At this time I really don't think it is. If he can't play clean, he has no place in hockey, especially if the only thing he focuses on at times is hurting other players instead of going for the puck.
My opinion may be harsh, but I believe that more responsibility needs to be taken for intentional actions, especially those that are obviously aimed to hurt someone. A 17 game suspension is a step in the right direction and if that doesn't get the players' attention I'm not sure what will when it comes to head hits other than kicking repeat offenders out of the league. If we want players to keep playing, intent to harm needs to be addressed no matter who the offender is.
Cooke was suspended for the rest of the regular season (10 games) plus the first round of the playoffs, so a potential 17 games. I'll be honest, I was just expecting 10 games for him but the NHL had to make an example out of a head hit since it was a huge topic of conversation at last week's GM meetings. But I also think that the suspension by the league isn't nearly as damaging as the punishment from the Penguins may be. Shero released a comment soon after the NHL's ruling and it makes me feel that something is brewing in the Pens' head office.
"The suspension is warranted because that's exactly the kind of hit we're trying to get out of the game. Head shots have no place in hockey. We've told Matt in no uncertain terms that this kind of action on the ice is unacceptable and cannot happen. Head shots must be dealt with severely, and the Pittsburgh Penguins support the NHL in sending this very strong message." (NHL.com)
The part that sticks out most to me is:
"We've told Matt in no uncertain terms that this kind of action on the ice is unacceptable and cannot happen."
Matt Cooke is known for dirty hits and was hit with a suspension earlier this year because of the same kind of behavior in addition to a dirty hit on Marc Savard last year that went unpunished. Mario Lemieux has come out with statements talking about changes on the ice in relation to hits and getting rid of Cooke makes a statement that he is dead serious about the issue. With over three hits in the past year, I'm thinking "Cookie" can say bye bye to his Pens jersey soon.
I have no doubt that if Cooke gets released, someone else will snatch him up. He is a good player when he plays clean, it's just keeping his game clean that is the hard (if not impossible) part. But I feel that if he doesn't shape up soon, he will be saying bye bye to the NHL and trying to find ice time somewhere else.
Is this a bad thing? At this time I really don't think it is. If he can't play clean, he has no place in hockey, especially if the only thing he focuses on at times is hurting other players instead of going for the puck.
My opinion may be harsh, but I believe that more responsibility needs to be taken for intentional actions, especially those that are obviously aimed to hurt someone. A 17 game suspension is a step in the right direction and if that doesn't get the players' attention I'm not sure what will when it comes to head hits other than kicking repeat offenders out of the league. If we want players to keep playing, intent to harm needs to be addressed no matter who the offender is.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Egypt and Journalists
As a "wannabe journalist" like the title of this blog says, I try to keep myself updated on what is happening in the world. I'll admit that I don't focus on the "real" news as much as I should since my real love is sports, hockey, NASCAR, and horse racing to be specific, but the conflict in Egypt has held my attention for a week now.
After doing some research about the Egyptian government and what the people of Egypt were protesting for, I took a pretty educated stance on what side of the "fight" I wanted to be on. I also took more interest in this than I have other conflicts because Egypt is a pretty big ally to the U.S. and what happens over there will affect our country as well. But over the last few days, another issue has caught my attention when it comes to Egypt, the violence towards journalists.
At first, we heard of a little violence towards journalists, such as the police taking away equipment and arresting journalists but now the violence has heated up and been focused towards those trying to get the news out to the world.
"There was no control. Suddenly a man would come up to you and punch you in the face." Anderson Cooper of CNN reported.
Yet another journalist was escorted to her hotel at gunpoint and the Hilton Hotel in Cairo was raided by pro-Mubarak supporters looking for journalists. Throughout the day, I've seen lists of injured and unaccounted for journalists and their assistants grow longer. I find it incredibly sad and unsettling that the people trying to get news out of Egypt to let the world see what is going on are literally putting their lives on the line to get us this information.
As someone that hopes to get into the journalism ranks in the next few years, this definitely opens my eyes to some of the risks I knew there were in the profession but never really thought about. Does this make me rethink my career choice? No, but it does make me rethink where I want to go when I get out of school. It definitely opens my eyes that there are more than just sports when it comes to journalism choices. Will I reconsider the idea of going to sports and hopefully working on a Kentucky farm or at a racetrack? I honestly cannot answer that question at this time, but it is something that has been floating around my brain over the past few days.
After doing some research about the Egyptian government and what the people of Egypt were protesting for, I took a pretty educated stance on what side of the "fight" I wanted to be on. I also took more interest in this than I have other conflicts because Egypt is a pretty big ally to the U.S. and what happens over there will affect our country as well. But over the last few days, another issue has caught my attention when it comes to Egypt, the violence towards journalists.
At first, we heard of a little violence towards journalists, such as the police taking away equipment and arresting journalists but now the violence has heated up and been focused towards those trying to get the news out to the world.
"There was no control. Suddenly a man would come up to you and punch you in the face." Anderson Cooper of CNN reported.
Yet another journalist was escorted to her hotel at gunpoint and the Hilton Hotel in Cairo was raided by pro-Mubarak supporters looking for journalists. Throughout the day, I've seen lists of injured and unaccounted for journalists and their assistants grow longer. I find it incredibly sad and unsettling that the people trying to get news out of Egypt to let the world see what is going on are literally putting their lives on the line to get us this information.
As someone that hopes to get into the journalism ranks in the next few years, this definitely opens my eyes to some of the risks I knew there were in the profession but never really thought about. Does this make me rethink my career choice? No, but it does make me rethink where I want to go when I get out of school. It definitely opens my eyes that there are more than just sports when it comes to journalism choices. Will I reconsider the idea of going to sports and hopefully working on a Kentucky farm or at a racetrack? I honestly cannot answer that question at this time, but it is something that has been floating around my brain over the past few days.
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