It's been a while

Wow...it has truly been a while since I used my blog and that slightly makes me sad. However, I guess it's a good time to catch up.
So, I am in my last semester of Undergrads! It has been quite interesting thus far. I am in UGA Newsource which is a student produced news cast that comes on Monday-Thursday. I have reported, anchored...and I will have been Weather man, Producer, AP, Assignment Editor, and Photographer all before the end of the semester. It's exciting because it gives me a real view of how the business will be. WITH ALL THAT SAID...I am still not sure exactly where I want to be after graduation. I have applied for a Counseling Position also and I will be applying to Stations...two very different fields, but I love them both so I am just going with the wind right now.
Other than things like that, just a lot of personal thoughts that constantly "trouble" my mind..if you will. Nothing I can't handle with the help of God and my Family and Friends though. All in all..life is great!

Recap of Life

How's it going everyone? I know that it has been a minute, but that is because the summer got really hectic with my job, and the online courses I'm taking. Also, it has just been a summer of growth and achievement in many different areas of my life. However, this post is to serve as an inspirational vitamin, so to speak. Life! I mean, what is it all about? Achievement, right? yeah...and sometimes at our age, you feel like you have so much time to do what you want and need to do. This is not true however. I look at the people that the "world" has lost over the past month..big names, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Steve McNair. Granted the first three died because of "things beyond their control", but I included the last because that shows that our personal actions can have great, even terminate effects on our lives. We are expected to live our lives and days as if we have forever..but it is also important to live your life like everyday is your last. Not trying to scare you, but hey, you never know when it's your time, so you have to push that much harder each day. This was just a thought that I had on my mind from this morning...nothing too heavy and surprisingly not something that is "world or media" related..just life! Live it to the fullest and cherish every moment that you have with those that you love.

J.West

Is this field safe?

Looking at news over the past couple of years since 9/11 and especially recently, it seems that being a journalist is not exactly the safest field of study. I mean, think about it...there really aren't that many jobs out there right now, the pay for the jobs that are available isn't the highest, and to top it off, you have to worry about covering stories in other countries and becoming a victim to a vicious crime of the resident. What is really going on? I have the sincerest hope for Laura Ling and Euna Lee's, two American journalists being condemned by the North Korean government, safe return to the United States. I am sure that no one ever thinks they will go to do their job and never return home to their families.
I think that most important thing to think about though is that, you really have to love the work that you do and at the end of the day, if you can honestly say that, you should not be worried about the shortage of jobs, the low pay, and the chance that you may not make it to the next day. I know that the last one seems a little extreme, but that is the lesson that I am starting to learn as I take new challenges and adventures in life. I am not exactly sure where my life will take me, but I am definitely on for the ride to see where it takes me...I may not even end up in journalism, but I am sure that what ever I do, my life experiences will help me in that profession.
Point blank, journalism is not a safe or easy profession, but neither is driving down the street and going out at night by yourself. We have to take chances in life to get to where we want to be.

How Far is "Too Far"?

Well, if you ever thought that you would just slip the President a letter, I am sorry to tell you that you are Sadly Mistaken! Upon reading a current article, I see that a reporter for the 'Georgia Informer', Brenda Lee, was carried away by security officers when she tried to give President Obama a letter concerning gay marriage. There are conflicting sides to this story, just like any other, but Lee says that she was not trying to cause any trouble.
Now, this is just me, but I don't think that I would ever try to give a letter to the President about anything, especially not about something as controversial as gay marriage. What did the letter say that he has not already heard? This was just something that I found interesting and I figured I would share it with all of you...so, if you ever want to tell the President something in private, don't go "too far" to try and give it to him!

http://news.aol.com/article/reporter-obama-letter/502874?icid=main|aimzones|dl1|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Freporter-obama-letter%2F502874

Toleration

So Today, I was on Facebook, something that I am sure that everyone is familiar with, and my friend sent me the link to a video of Trading Spouses: The God Warrior. Now, I am a Christian, and I have absolutely no problem with sharing that with people who ask of my religious/spiritual beliefs, but this episode slightly made me upset. In this particular episode the moms switch places--one who is highly a believer in God, and the other who is a hypnotherapist and practices Astrology. Throughout this episode, the Christian women, Margaret Perrin, and her friends do some things that really make me question the teachings of the Bible.
At what point, does the love for others start to kick in? I am one who truly believes that even if you are not in total agreeance with someone and the things that they do, there is still no reason to be rude and disrespect them. At the same token, if you are not comfortable around someone or something, simply removing yourself is all the action that needs to be taken. So to see in this episode some of the things that were done, didn't necessarily portray the "love of God" that I have always been taught to have.
With all of these things said, I really encourage people to think outside of the box. Be a believer, and a firm one at that, of whatever you want to believe, but if at any point, you are tearing someone else down...maybe the person that you should be evaluating is yourself. Only tolerate what you can handle, but never forget to have tolerance for others and their choices in life!
What are your thoughts on the situation?

A 'Real' Job

As I sit here in my room at home, I think of how everyone my age always talks of having a "real" job. At this point in my life, I can openly admit that I don't want to work at a fast food restaurant, or a job that can be found in your local mall. I want a job that is going to challenge me in the things that I have learned at school and also, just something that will give me experience in the field. So with that said, I have looked at the different turns that Journalism has taken in the past couple of years.
There really isn't a lot of truly defined journalistic jobs open to a college graduate anymore. There are things like this, blogs, that have taken a role in being the outlet for news. There is the internet that does the exact same thing. I can even admit that as a journalism student, I don't enjoy watching the nightly news because it seems to only have negative stories in the headlines. So, where does that leave me...looking for a real job?
That was just one of the thoughts that I had as I sit here and wait on call backs from Internships.