I'm a senior: Thoughts at the end of an era (almost)

It has been a while since I last wrote to all of you—a busy while. This past school year I think I focused more on work than school. Thankfully my work dovetails quite nicely into my studies.

I was the sub-editor assistant at The Daily of the University of Washington during winter quarter, and was just getting a feel for the newsroom when I was catapulted to managing editor. I did my best, and tried to stay away from the politics of the job to focus on keeping my staff content and productive.

I was the most stressed those first few weeks than I had ever been before, but five pounds skinnier and with a GPA a few points lower, I tried out for editor in chief. I lost. And for the first time in my life I knew that it was okay, and that my family loved me anyway. I cried my eyes out and moved on.

I do not like to fail. I do not like to make mistakes, but I have chosen a career which is a constant learning process. A journalist tries their very best to get everything right. They check and re-check facts and grammar. After reading it to themselves again and again, they take a deep breath and release the story to the editors. There is always the possibility in journalism that you got it wrong. Such is the elusiveness of truth. We are but human beings trying our best to understand the world and put it on paper. The problem—and the beauty—is that the world is damn complicated. This part of the work both excites and terrifies me. I didn't have to go to a monastery or a mountaintop retreat to learn to let go. Every night at The Daily, including the night of the selection of the editor in chief, has been a practice in non-attachment.

I am a senior now, and about to dive into uncertainty.

I will be in Athens, Greece this summer for a month (see: http://ahuskysodyssey.blogspot.com/), after not traveling internationally in six years, and I'm nervous to be so far from my home and family.

After that, and a few months finishing up my degree, I am graduating into an uncertain future, with an uncertain economy, and an uncertain job market with an increasingly uncertain place for journalists.

Today the internet gives everyone the power to report. Beneficially, news is no longer diced and dished out by media conglomerates; it is far more egalitarian. However, it is also messier. Without the ethical codes and training that professional journalists have, one cannot be certain what is being served—and who it serves.

This is the world into which I will be thrust, cap and gown in hand and with traveling and internships and a degree under my belt. That's not all I have, though. Ambiguity nauseates me and I'm constantly grasping for understanding and structure, but I'm diving anyway—because I do know how to swim.

One more year to go...

I am sitting in the empty newsroom, waiting for my shuttle to the airport. It is lonely without the buzz and chatter of the people who have become my family. The walls are practically glowing with the energy of millions of crises, of late night dance parties and the slamming of doors. My skin crawls with it; the stress, the exhaustion, the joy of working every night to print words that will be read by thousands. 

Two quarters ago I was oblivious to double trucks, CMYK and the proper use of alumni. Managing an entire staff of people — some of the craziest and most creative I have ever met — was not part of my plan. Yelling, threatening to fire writers and snapping at people to do their jobs did not come naturally to me. Being an authoritative figure did not come naturally at all. But I got the hang of it, and now I have to leave that persona for someone else to take on. 

Once a managing editor, always a managing editor, however. Even when we were leaving Thursday night to celebrate, I was the one helping shuffle people into cars. I made copies of the directions and counted heads. My job was done and yet it had become a part of me. Making everything run smoothly, that's what I'm here for. 

I survived the quarter. In fact, I flourished. 

The UW Chronicles: Busy, Busy, Busy

Hello everyone!

It is nearly March and I have not posted since...I don't know when. But here I am.

The quarter has been busy, a roller coaster ride not so fun at some points and a blast at others.

Studying journalism is a constant learning process — two steps forward (I know A.P. style!), one step back (interviewing trauma victims, even if they're actors, is tough stuff.). While writing, I edit everything simultaneously in my head. In fact, I rewrote that sentence. It gets slightly annoying and I am working on turning off my internal critic during the draft writing process because it just makes me want to hurl my computer across the room. But besides that, political science is going well. My class on the Mideast and North Africa is fascinating.

I am currently searching for an internship that might combine both disciplines, or just an internship at all. If anyone can get me into National Geographic, NPR or Amnesty International's magazine, let me know.

I'm saving the best news for last. Currently, I am the sub-editor assistant at The Daily of the University of Washington. I help everyone in the newsroom with little things, including writing sidebars, info boxes, making tea and writing last minute articles.

Check this one out: UW students confronted by ‘aggressive, angry’ state trooper

I'm being promoted. Arla, our news editor, was elected editor-in-chief last week, and because we work so well together, I will be managing editor. During spring quarter I will make sure the newsroom is running and that the process is efficient. I also look over the paper with Arla before sending it to the printer. I also get an office. Well, a wall that separates us from the craziness that is the Daily newsroom. And a raise.

According to the great wellspring of information that is Wikipedia, my job description is this:

"A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.

In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities. The position is generally the second highest in rank, after the editor-in-chief (also called the executive editor.)"

I'm cookin' now.