All right, to start things off, I want all of y’all to visit April’s blog right here. She read me the first paragraph of her post tonight, and I think it’s funny — therefore, y’all should all read it. (Plus we went to different sessions, so our posts will be pretty different.)
And now for a wrap-up on the National College Media Convention sessions I attended today. Again, I apologize for the length.
1. Keep Going When the Going Is Really Tough:
I also only know one of the speakers’ names, so I’m not going to post them. This was basically a session on how to market yourself and what you can do with your journalism degree. I was disappointed with the lack of variety with this session. It turned out that all three people leading it had journalism (or communication-related) degrees or experience, and all three were currently teaching at the same university. They all had outside careers and different interests, but all three were teachers. I really would have liked to see three people in different careers on this panel, not three teachers.
2. Convention General Session: Steve Outing
Outing’s message was titled, “Why Now is the Best Time Ever to Go Into Journalism.” When he announced this, I was immediately intrigued — why? Because (almost) everyone else has been telling us, “Get out of journalism! You won’t have a job when you graduate!” (The other people that haven’t told me that just keep saying, “Well, if you love it and you’re passionate about it, then surely you’ll find a job! And you’ll make money!” In my humble opinion, loving what you do, having passion and even being good at something doesn’t guarantee you a job or money. But hey, what do I know? I’m only a 22-year-old college student.)
He talked about how interesting today’s media is compared to the media of the 70s and 80s. It was basically a brief history lesson. He talked briefly about niche journalists and freelance options. (Question about niche journalists that I posed to my peers via Twitter: In today’s day and age with fierce competition, do you think niche journalism limits you?) April and I had to leave early to make it to our critique appointment, so I didn’t get a good feel for the overage message.
3. Individual Newspaper Critique
April and I sat down with Cheri Shipman from Texas A&M for a 35-minute critique. Shipman was very helpful and very complementary, while also being quick to ask us questions about why do certain things with the paper. She made good suggestions and posed some good questions. I won’t bore y’all with the details here, but heads up Reflector staff — we’re bringing back new ideas!
4. The Art and Science of Editorial Writing: Arnold Garcia, opinion page editor at the Austin American-Statesman
Garcia reminder me of one huge thing: Our opinion pieces at The Reflector are too long. Again, heads up, Reflector staff; I’m planning to crack down on the epic narratives that we sometimes receive from out writers! (He said articles usually shouldn’t be more than 400-500 words.)
He also posed a good point, saying, “Now you’ve [an opinion writer] told me whose fault it [whatever issue you write about] is — tell me how to fix it.”
5. Battling the Tranquility University Syndrome – Covering “Bad News” on Campus: Shawn Murphy, SUNY Plattsburg
Murphy expressed something that I’ve wanted to tell people at my great university (seriously, I do think it’s great — that’s no sarcasm) many, many, many times: The Reflector is not my paper and it is not a PR vehicle for the university. As an adviser, he also talked about how many people think the adviser runs the newspaper and the university puts pressure on him or her to edit/censor content. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is true for The Reflector, nor I am accusing my university of using The Reflector as a PR vehicle. To this day, I still have dear friends who call me and ask, “Hey, my club is doing ______. Can you get us in the paper?” or “Hey, I’ll give you a quote for the paper — just tell me what you want me to say!”)
Murphy had some AMAZING stories. The kinds of things his staff has covered are stories most college newspapers only dream about covering. He was also dismissed (unofficially — it’s a long story) from one of his jobs because he “let” something run in the student newspaper. Really interesting stuff.
6. Writing the Bad Habits Out of Your Eager but Inexperienced Staff: Tom Pierce
This was my last session for the day, and it followed a much-needed but too short nap. Pierce addressed two aspects: mistakes while interviewing and mistakes in writing. It was encouraging to hear other students asking questions and voicing problems that I’ve seen in while working for the paper. The session was standing room only — I sat on the floor next to an opinion editor from Loyola University in Chicago and another girl from Duke.
7. Okay, I lied in that last bullet. I really did another session … at 11 p.m.! April and I had our paper critiqued again by the lovely adviser from the University of Alabama. It was really good to have another SEC adviser looking at our paper because she had a good idea for what we cover/should cover, etc. She talked to us for over an hour and looked at three issues of the paper. Thank you!
April and I enjoyed dinner at Rio Grande, which is where a season of “Real World” was filmed. (Obviously it’s been turned into a restaurant since they used it for the show.) Tomorrow, we get out early (around 2:30 or so), so we’re excited about seeing some of Austin’s sites. I want some photographs … cool angles, you know? ;) (shout out to Kyle and Lawrence)
OK, it’s way past bedtime. Expect a video tomorrow on April’s blog — we’re filming one tonight, but we don’t have Internet in our room and we’re definitely not coming back downstairs to the lobby to upload it when we could be sleeping.
Keep following our Twitter updates (@AubraWhitten and @AprilWindham). Search for the hashtag #ncmc09 to see what everyone's saying during the conference. Good night!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Amazing adventures in Austin
Wow, I lose major journalism points for the cheesy title, but whatever.
The Reflector assistant news editor and I are at the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas. Basically, it's a big conference for collegiate journalists and advisers. We've had a great time, met people from all over the United States (so far, no one else from Mississippi), attended some great sessions, seen cool buildings and also enjoyed some nice cuisine. Let's just say Austin is definitely not Starkville — tonight we walked four blocks and bam, Spaghetti Warehouse! We're also staying on the 11th floor of a 20+ story Hilton Hotel. I think the tallest building in Starkville is maybe 10 floors — anyone know how tall Suttle Hall is?
April and I missed a production night today (oh don't worry, I was the dork in the Atlanta airport reading stories, marking them up in Word then e-mailing them back to section editors). It was weird not being in the newsroom, but the staff managed without us, the paper was sent and from what I've heard, the Henry Meyer Student Media Center is still standing.
A couple of random observations:
1. I've never seen so many Macs or iPhones in one place at one time (yeah, even at the Apple Store). It makes me really happy.
2. I love that everyone here greets you, smiles, asks your position at your paper and where you're from — we've all got journalism in common.
3. The Hilton is silly because it charges $6 an hour for Internet in your room. (There's free Internet in the main lobby, but not on the conference floors or in the conference building next door.)
4. The Hilton might just be worth every penny because it provides complementary printing. (And I really needed it today, considering I forgot to print my resumes back in Starkville.)
5. As nice as the Hilton is, I've already seen two cockroaches three times in less than 24 hours. One of them is in our room. I tried to kill him, but alas, he escaped. (Let the record stand that I did injure him and I haven't seen him since 6:45 this morning.) We've named him our honorary third roommate, but I wish he would leave.
6. My hair likes Austin. It rained today and was super windy, yet my hair didn't get frizzy. Amazing.
7. Everyone here has a massive coffee addiction (the line at the hotel coffee shop this morning proved it) and I love it.
8. I LOVE the newspaper nerdiness and journalism jokes that keep popping up.
9. I know I'm probably annoying non-journalism people with my Twitter right now. I apologize. It will only last two more days, I promise.
10. This has nothing to do with the convention, but y'all, my arm is STILL sore from my flu shot last Friday!
Anyway, here are the sessions I attended today with some brief highlights:
1. Get Out of (Libel) Jail Free Card: Doug Pierce, attorney at King and Ballow in Nashville, TN
Pierce talked about different privileges reporters have and how that affects their legal covering. He used an interesting quote from the Louisana Court of Appeals: "Talebearers are just as bad as talemakers." (1952) Basically, it means you can't quote someone libeling/defaming someone else and always expect to get away with it — you're the talebearer and you're still partially responsible. Someone in the session brought up the Web site Smoking Gun (which I wasn't familiar with until today; it's a site that has police reports, mugshots, etc.) and we talked about the legal ramifications of getting information from that site instead of the actual officials. I spoke to him after the session about possibly attending paralegal school and he was helpful, telling me that it's a good thing I have (or will have) a four-year degree prior to a paralegal career.
2. Ethics and Practice of Trauma Journalism (Dart Center): Kelly Furnus, VA Tech newspaper adviser, Donna DeCesare and Rachele Kanigel
This session was INCREDIBLY helpful. If you're a journalist and aren't familiar with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, check it out. It was a short panel discussion and then students attending the session got to ask questions to the panel about how to cover things. It was really encouraging to hear from peers about their struggles to report really hard things, everything from women being abused to a professor randomly pulling out a gun and shooting three students on campus. I say it was encouraging because it was good to hear that our newspaper isn't alone in having to cover hard things. (Like I've said before, death stories are some of my least favorite, but they're also a good way to help give families and friends closure about that person.) It was very helpful and interesting to hear Kelly Furnus speak about how he and his staff handled the VA Tech shooting back in 2007, and he was helpful in answering my question (how to handle requests from other news outlets to cover tragic stories for them; The Reflector was recently asked by a major news outlet to find out more info on a missing MSU student so that the outlet could run our story. We didn't have any more information, yet they kept asking us about it.)
3. Opening a Shut Case: Chuck Baldwin, University of South Dakota, and Mark Witherspoon, Iowa State
Here, we talked a lot about our state rules for open records, issues we've had with campus police, how to gather information, what to tell your crime beat reporter, etc. It was really interesting to hear what other students have gone through; again, it's nice to know a lot of us have the same issues while reporting! Again, I got to ask them questions and got solid answers, so that was great. Two quotes from Mark Witherspoon:
Addressing the issue of some reporters not being assertive/not pushing hard enough for information: "If they [public officials] don't give it [public records] to you, you need to get pissed."
When asked how to respond to your school administration when they say you're not allowed to have information that you're legally allowed to have: "Bring in the law and ask your officials, 'Are you going to break the law?'"
4. Chicken Salad II: Michael K (sorry, I don't have his last name in front of me)
First of all, this was a rocking design seminar. This guy was hilarious. I took some photos of his redesigns, so I'll post those shortly. Here are some quotes:
"Don't use clip art — when you search for it, that's wasting 10 minutes of your life away that you can never get back."
"Put the turds [lists, etc.] in a graphic — people love to look at graphics."
"If you've hit puberty, you're too old for clip art."
"Editors who can't write a decent headline should be waterboarded at Guantanamo."
"All people are created equal. All people in photographs are not."
"Graphic designers: you've got to train your word people [editors] like you train a puppy. When your puppy take a dump on your carpet, you take his little head within 30 seconds and push into that pile of poop. If you don't do it within 30 seconds, the puppy's going to wonder, 'Why is he pushing my head into someone else's feces?' He won't remember. When they [editors] tell you, 'It's [your graphic] stupid,' take their heads and shove it into the pile of feces that is that crappy assignment."
"I call this a John Doe going to take a dump lead: some guy I don't know doing something everyone does every day."
"The headline should be 'boom!' the deck should be simple."
"Your college journalism career is like your juvenile record: eventually, it gets wiped clean."
Also, check out April's blog right here — she's been updating, too!
Alright, it's way past time for bed. (They just dimmed the lights in the lobby.) Photos will be coming tomorrow via Facebook. Stay tuned to Twitter for lots of updates!
The Reflector assistant news editor and I are at the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas. Basically, it's a big conference for collegiate journalists and advisers. We've had a great time, met people from all over the United States (so far, no one else from Mississippi), attended some great sessions, seen cool buildings and also enjoyed some nice cuisine. Let's just say Austin is definitely not Starkville — tonight we walked four blocks and bam, Spaghetti Warehouse! We're also staying on the 11th floor of a 20+ story Hilton Hotel. I think the tallest building in Starkville is maybe 10 floors — anyone know how tall Suttle Hall is?
April and I missed a production night today (oh don't worry, I was the dork in the Atlanta airport reading stories, marking them up in Word then e-mailing them back to section editors). It was weird not being in the newsroom, but the staff managed without us, the paper was sent and from what I've heard, the Henry Meyer Student Media Center is still standing.
A couple of random observations:
1. I've never seen so many Macs or iPhones in one place at one time (yeah, even at the Apple Store). It makes me really happy.
2. I love that everyone here greets you, smiles, asks your position at your paper and where you're from — we've all got journalism in common.
3. The Hilton is silly because it charges $6 an hour for Internet in your room. (There's free Internet in the main lobby, but not on the conference floors or in the conference building next door.)
4. The Hilton might just be worth every penny because it provides complementary printing. (And I really needed it today, considering I forgot to print my resumes back in Starkville.)
5. As nice as the Hilton is, I've already seen two cockroaches three times in less than 24 hours. One of them is in our room. I tried to kill him, but alas, he escaped. (Let the record stand that I did injure him and I haven't seen him since 6:45 this morning.) We've named him our honorary third roommate, but I wish he would leave.
6. My hair likes Austin. It rained today and was super windy, yet my hair didn't get frizzy. Amazing.
7. Everyone here has a massive coffee addiction (the line at the hotel coffee shop this morning proved it) and I love it.
8. I LOVE the newspaper nerdiness and journalism jokes that keep popping up.
9. I know I'm probably annoying non-journalism people with my Twitter right now. I apologize. It will only last two more days, I promise.
10. This has nothing to do with the convention, but y'all, my arm is STILL sore from my flu shot last Friday!
Anyway, here are the sessions I attended today with some brief highlights:
1. Get Out of (Libel) Jail Free Card: Doug Pierce, attorney at King and Ballow in Nashville, TN
Pierce talked about different privileges reporters have and how that affects their legal covering. He used an interesting quote from the Louisana Court of Appeals: "Talebearers are just as bad as talemakers." (1952) Basically, it means you can't quote someone libeling/defaming someone else and always expect to get away with it — you're the talebearer and you're still partially responsible. Someone in the session brought up the Web site Smoking Gun (which I wasn't familiar with until today; it's a site that has police reports, mugshots, etc.) and we talked about the legal ramifications of getting information from that site instead of the actual officials. I spoke to him after the session about possibly attending paralegal school and he was helpful, telling me that it's a good thing I have (or will have) a four-year degree prior to a paralegal career.
2. Ethics and Practice of Trauma Journalism (Dart Center): Kelly Furnus, VA Tech newspaper adviser, Donna DeCesare and Rachele Kanigel
This session was INCREDIBLY helpful. If you're a journalist and aren't familiar with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, check it out. It was a short panel discussion and then students attending the session got to ask questions to the panel about how to cover things. It was really encouraging to hear from peers about their struggles to report really hard things, everything from women being abused to a professor randomly pulling out a gun and shooting three students on campus. I say it was encouraging because it was good to hear that our newspaper isn't alone in having to cover hard things. (Like I've said before, death stories are some of my least favorite, but they're also a good way to help give families and friends closure about that person.) It was very helpful and interesting to hear Kelly Furnus speak about how he and his staff handled the VA Tech shooting back in 2007, and he was helpful in answering my question (how to handle requests from other news outlets to cover tragic stories for them; The Reflector was recently asked by a major news outlet to find out more info on a missing MSU student so that the outlet could run our story. We didn't have any more information, yet they kept asking us about it.)
3. Opening a Shut Case: Chuck Baldwin, University of South Dakota, and Mark Witherspoon, Iowa State
Here, we talked a lot about our state rules for open records, issues we've had with campus police, how to gather information, what to tell your crime beat reporter, etc. It was really interesting to hear what other students have gone through; again, it's nice to know a lot of us have the same issues while reporting! Again, I got to ask them questions and got solid answers, so that was great. Two quotes from Mark Witherspoon:
Addressing the issue of some reporters not being assertive/not pushing hard enough for information: "If they [public officials] don't give it [public records] to you, you need to get pissed."
When asked how to respond to your school administration when they say you're not allowed to have information that you're legally allowed to have: "Bring in the law and ask your officials, 'Are you going to break the law?'"
4. Chicken Salad II: Michael K (sorry, I don't have his last name in front of me)
First of all, this was a rocking design seminar. This guy was hilarious. I took some photos of his redesigns, so I'll post those shortly. Here are some quotes:
"Don't use clip art — when you search for it, that's wasting 10 minutes of your life away that you can never get back."
"Put the turds [lists, etc.] in a graphic — people love to look at graphics."
"If you've hit puberty, you're too old for clip art."
"Editors who can't write a decent headline should be waterboarded at Guantanamo."
"All people are created equal. All people in photographs are not."
"Graphic designers: you've got to train your word people [editors] like you train a puppy. When your puppy take a dump on your carpet, you take his little head within 30 seconds and push into that pile of poop. If you don't do it within 30 seconds, the puppy's going to wonder, 'Why is he pushing my head into someone else's feces?' He won't remember. When they [editors] tell you, 'It's [your graphic] stupid,' take their heads and shove it into the pile of feces that is that crappy assignment."
"I call this a John Doe going to take a dump lead: some guy I don't know doing something everyone does every day."
"The headline should be 'boom!' the deck should be simple."
"Your college journalism career is like your juvenile record: eventually, it gets wiped clean."
Also, check out April's blog right here — she's been updating, too!
Alright, it's way past time for bed. (They just dimmed the lights in the lobby.) Photos will be coming tomorrow via Facebook. Stay tuned to Twitter for lots of updates!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Trouble sleeping
It seems these days that no matter how tired I am, my body won't allow me to be in bed before midnight ... and forget even thinking about sleep until 1 or 2 a.m. at the earliest. No shocker, I still wake up not feeling rested. Mom always used to tell me that if God didn't grant you sleep, then you were supposed to be praying for someone - feel free to submit your requests and I'll gladly add you to my nightly list. :)
Speaking of my a prayer list ... please keep me in your prayers. I'm seriously considering paralegal school/certification and I'm really excited about it, but I'm having trouble finding the right program. There's really just one the Memphis area, and I'm still trying to consult some professional lawyers about which associations and programs are the best. I'm also considering the Jackson (Mississippi) area as well as Nashville. It'll be interesting to see where the Lord takes me next year! It's a daily struggle to trust Him, so I'm thankful that He's using this time of uncertainty to grow me.
I've had several people ask me, "Why are you giving up journalism? Isn't it your passion?" Short answers: The market is bad/unstable. And yes, it is my passion, but I can tell stories and help others in another field. Longer answer: I never said I'm giving it up forever. I'd love to freelance (writing and photography). I'm ready to get out of a newsroom - call me a grandma, but I just can't pull 3 and 4 a.m. shifts for the rest of my life. If I found a great journalism job upon graduation, I'd probably still take it, but the likelihood of that happening these days is slim.
All right, that's it for tonight. As usual, the paper sucked the life out of me today, so maybe I'll be able to sleep. (BTW, for anyone interested, we DID get our rights to police reports back...somewhat, and the complete log will be posted on reflector-online.com shortly!) I'm headed to bed - as soon as I go downstairs and inform our neighbors that it's 2 a.m. and therefore their porch stereo system needs to cease!
Speaking of my a prayer list ... please keep me in your prayers. I'm seriously considering paralegal school/certification and I'm really excited about it, but I'm having trouble finding the right program. There's really just one the Memphis area, and I'm still trying to consult some professional lawyers about which associations and programs are the best. I'm also considering the Jackson (Mississippi) area as well as Nashville. It'll be interesting to see where the Lord takes me next year! It's a daily struggle to trust Him, so I'm thankful that He's using this time of uncertainty to grow me.
I've had several people ask me, "Why are you giving up journalism? Isn't it your passion?" Short answers: The market is bad/unstable. And yes, it is my passion, but I can tell stories and help others in another field. Longer answer: I never said I'm giving it up forever. I'd love to freelance (writing and photography). I'm ready to get out of a newsroom - call me a grandma, but I just can't pull 3 and 4 a.m. shifts for the rest of my life. If I found a great journalism job upon graduation, I'd probably still take it, but the likelihood of that happening these days is slim.
All right, that's it for tonight. As usual, the paper sucked the life out of me today, so maybe I'll be able to sleep. (BTW, for anyone interested, we DID get our rights to police reports back...somewhat, and the complete log will be posted on reflector-online.com shortly!) I'm headed to bed - as soon as I go downstairs and inform our neighbors that it's 2 a.m. and therefore their porch stereo system needs to cease!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A bunch of nothing
I want to blog, but I don't really have much to blog about. (That's a disclaimer for those of you who continue to read this post.)
Had a great weekend in Nashville with my family and close friends. I went to cheer on the Belmont Bruins soccer team (they won their game 9-0), the ECS Eagles cross country team (they also did well, considering the course was an absolute mud hole), and the Mississippi State Bulldogs (beat Vandy at Vandy! Our first SEC away game win since October 2007 - sad, I know). It was a crazy busy weekend, and I look forward to going back up to Nashville again for part of fall break and having more time to chat with the family...and shop. :)
Oh, possible highlight of my day (it's sad when something like this is your highlight): I successfully took my procrastination abilities to a new level today. With just under an hour of time, I was able to write an 800 word story (well, rough draft of the story) for my feature writing class. I've already announced this via Facebook, so if my sweet teacher sees it, well, so be it. :) I didn't say it was perfect or great, but that's what rough drafts are for, right? We'll see how well it went over when I get the grade back...
As of yet, it hasn't rained today here in Starkville! It has rained for about a solid week and is supposed to keep raining through Friday. It's been cloudy all day until a few minutes ago - it's nice to see blue skies and the sun. I think I'm going to head outside for a bit and enjoy the weather (while studying for the GRE - boo).
Had a great weekend in Nashville with my family and close friends. I went to cheer on the Belmont Bruins soccer team (they won their game 9-0), the ECS Eagles cross country team (they also did well, considering the course was an absolute mud hole), and the Mississippi State Bulldogs (beat Vandy at Vandy! Our first SEC away game win since October 2007 - sad, I know). It was a crazy busy weekend, and I look forward to going back up to Nashville again for part of fall break and having more time to chat with the family...and shop. :)
Oh, possible highlight of my day (it's sad when something like this is your highlight): I successfully took my procrastination abilities to a new level today. With just under an hour of time, I was able to write an 800 word story (well, rough draft of the story) for my feature writing class. I've already announced this via Facebook, so if my sweet teacher sees it, well, so be it. :) I didn't say it was perfect or great, but that's what rough drafts are for, right? We'll see how well it went over when I get the grade back...
As of yet, it hasn't rained today here in Starkville! It has rained for about a solid week and is supposed to keep raining through Friday. It's been cloudy all day until a few minutes ago - it's nice to see blue skies and the sun. I think I'm going to head outside for a bit and enjoy the weather (while studying for the GRE - boo).
Friday, September 11, 2009
Remember where you were eight years ago?
I do.
I was at home with my mom, sister, and brother. I was in eighth grade, and the three of us were home schooled. I had just finished some algebra work and had headed downstairs to attempt a science project with my siblings. I don't remember the project, but I do remember that it bubbled over and wasn't working right. As Mom searched the book trying to figure out what we had done wrong, the phone rang (home phone - I don't even think we had a cell phone at that time). Normally, Mom didn't answer much during school hours, but she did that day. It was Ms. Jill, a close friend of my mom's and at the time, my brother's soccer coach who worked at a local private school.
"Carrie, turn on the news."
"Jill, we're..."
"Carrie, turn on the news."
Ms. Jill knew we rarely had the news on and also knew we wouldn't have anything on or be in the car for several hours since we were at home working on school work. She had the presence of mind to call my Mom so that we would know what was happening.
I'm not sure exactly what Ms. Jill told my mom, but it made her move. I've seen my mom run on very few occasions, and this was one of those times. She bolted from the kitchen into the den, jabbing at the TV's power button frantically. Hearing the seriousness in Mom's tone, the three of us followed her in.
The first channel wasn't showing much, but the voices of the news anchors were grave. It was too silent. The camera only showed billowing smoke from a building.
Mom flipped the channel again, still on the phone, asking questions. As she changed the channel, I witnessed what I hope will be the most horrific thing I will ever have to see: a plane flying into one of the Twin Towers. We flipped channels again and saw the news about the Pentagon.
"We have family there," one of us murmured.
I don't know how long we sat there, confused, dazed, pulling out encyclopedias to look up the buildings and what they housed. I don't know how many faces of the dead, injured, and other victims I saw that day. I know that as long as I live, I never want to see something like that again.
Mom got off the phone with Ms. Jill and called Dad at work, telling him to turn on the old black and white TV at his store. For a few minutes, time froze as we gazed at the TV, stunned. We forgot about the failed science project bubbling and dripping all over the kitchen sink. We forgot about our math work. We forgot about reading. Mom began to make phone calls to see if our family and friends in the DC area were okay. Although it took hours, we eventually heard back from everyone, and we thanked the Lord that we had not lost any loved ones.
We spent a lot of time in prayer and the Word that day. I remember getting chills as we watched footage and I remember Mom eventually turning it off. It still didn't keep me from getting scared and those images still haunt me.
As I walked to campus this morning, took my quiz, then walked to work, I walked across MSU's Drill Field. My memories of 9/11/01 came flooding back as I came face to face with our flag at half mast. The Drill Field was silent, the sky was overcast, and the fly drooped - no wind, no movement. I stopped and stood for a moment, reflecting and trying to gather my thoughts.
I don't care how old I get or how many years go by - I don't think I'll ever be able to forget September 11th or stop the memories that come rushing back with it.
I was at home with my mom, sister, and brother. I was in eighth grade, and the three of us were home schooled. I had just finished some algebra work and had headed downstairs to attempt a science project with my siblings. I don't remember the project, but I do remember that it bubbled over and wasn't working right. As Mom searched the book trying to figure out what we had done wrong, the phone rang (home phone - I don't even think we had a cell phone at that time). Normally, Mom didn't answer much during school hours, but she did that day. It was Ms. Jill, a close friend of my mom's and at the time, my brother's soccer coach who worked at a local private school.
"Carrie, turn on the news."
"Jill, we're..."
"Carrie, turn on the news."
Ms. Jill knew we rarely had the news on and also knew we wouldn't have anything on or be in the car for several hours since we were at home working on school work. She had the presence of mind to call my Mom so that we would know what was happening.
I'm not sure exactly what Ms. Jill told my mom, but it made her move. I've seen my mom run on very few occasions, and this was one of those times. She bolted from the kitchen into the den, jabbing at the TV's power button frantically. Hearing the seriousness in Mom's tone, the three of us followed her in.
The first channel wasn't showing much, but the voices of the news anchors were grave. It was too silent. The camera only showed billowing smoke from a building.
Mom flipped the channel again, still on the phone, asking questions. As she changed the channel, I witnessed what I hope will be the most horrific thing I will ever have to see: a plane flying into one of the Twin Towers. We flipped channels again and saw the news about the Pentagon.
"We have family there," one of us murmured.
I don't know how long we sat there, confused, dazed, pulling out encyclopedias to look up the buildings and what they housed. I don't know how many faces of the dead, injured, and other victims I saw that day. I know that as long as I live, I never want to see something like that again.
Mom got off the phone with Ms. Jill and called Dad at work, telling him to turn on the old black and white TV at his store. For a few minutes, time froze as we gazed at the TV, stunned. We forgot about the failed science project bubbling and dripping all over the kitchen sink. We forgot about our math work. We forgot about reading. Mom began to make phone calls to see if our family and friends in the DC area were okay. Although it took hours, we eventually heard back from everyone, and we thanked the Lord that we had not lost any loved ones.
We spent a lot of time in prayer and the Word that day. I remember getting chills as we watched footage and I remember Mom eventually turning it off. It still didn't keep me from getting scared and those images still haunt me.
As I walked to campus this morning, took my quiz, then walked to work, I walked across MSU's Drill Field. My memories of 9/11/01 came flooding back as I came face to face with our flag at half mast. The Drill Field was silent, the sky was overcast, and the fly drooped - no wind, no movement. I stopped and stood for a moment, reflecting and trying to gather my thoughts.
I don't care how old I get or how many years go by - I don't think I'll ever be able to forget September 11th or stop the memories that come rushing back with it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Random questions floating through my head at 1:08 a.m.
No order whatsoever to this post, but if you have answers, please do share. I'm not a big fan of unanswered questions and a lot of y'all out there are a good deal smarter than me!
Why are the speed-bumps at 21 Apartments so huge? I mean, are they really that necessary? I drive an SUV and if I drive fast enough over a couple of them, I can scrape my bumper on them. That just shouldn't happen. Those dumb security gates should go away, too.
Did anyone else have problems with Twitter today? (And why does it bother me so much when Twitter's down/slow? Yikes, I guess that's a sign that I think I need it.)
Where in the world did the 20+ blank CDs that I bought to burn all the Korea Study Tour photos end up? And why would someone steal all those blank CDs that I bought with my money from my office? :( (because I'm thinking that's what happened)
Why aren't people dependable anymore? What happened to a sense of responsibility and work ethic? Is that something all college freshmen have to be taught and if so, am I the one supposed to be teaching them that?
Why is Mississippi so humid? Is that a result of the fall?
What in the world am I supposed to do when I graduate?
Why are my neighbors quiet until about 10 p.m. every night? What major are they in that doesn't require any studying or homework? And is it too late for me to switch to that major so I can be a lazy music-listenin', beer-drinkin', drunk singin', loud partyin' student, too? Kidding. :)
Why in the world is it taking the university until September 15 to issue the first student worker paychecks? Who thought that was a good idea? (Thank God for leftover summer job money and Daddy's rent/food money that's only an emergency phone call away.)
And the one that's been puzzling me for days: How do you encourage someone who doesn't share your same worldview? When that person's world seems to be crashing in on them, how do you tell someone that it's going to be okay and that there is Someone who loves them when that person doesn't believe any of that? How do you convince that person that all things happen for a reason and how in the world do you comfort someone in tough situations if that person doesn't believe the truth of the gospel?
Why are the speed-bumps at 21 Apartments so huge? I mean, are they really that necessary? I drive an SUV and if I drive fast enough over a couple of them, I can scrape my bumper on them. That just shouldn't happen. Those dumb security gates should go away, too.
Did anyone else have problems with Twitter today? (And why does it bother me so much when Twitter's down/slow? Yikes, I guess that's a sign that I think I need it.)
Where in the world did the 20+ blank CDs that I bought to burn all the Korea Study Tour photos end up? And why would someone steal all those blank CDs that I bought with my money from my office? :( (because I'm thinking that's what happened)
Why aren't people dependable anymore? What happened to a sense of responsibility and work ethic? Is that something all college freshmen have to be taught and if so, am I the one supposed to be teaching them that?
Why is Mississippi so humid? Is that a result of the fall?
What in the world am I supposed to do when I graduate?
Why are my neighbors quiet until about 10 p.m. every night? What major are they in that doesn't require any studying or homework? And is it too late for me to switch to that major so I can be a lazy music-listenin', beer-drinkin', drunk singin', loud partyin' student, too? Kidding. :)
Why in the world is it taking the university until September 15 to issue the first student worker paychecks? Who thought that was a good idea? (Thank God for leftover summer job money and Daddy's rent/food money that's only an emergency phone call away.)
And the one that's been puzzling me for days: How do you encourage someone who doesn't share your same worldview? When that person's world seems to be crashing in on them, how do you tell someone that it's going to be okay and that there is Someone who loves them when that person doesn't believe any of that? How do you convince that person that all things happen for a reason and how in the world do you comfort someone in tough situations if that person doesn't believe the truth of the gospel?
Monday, September 7, 2009
So what did I do all summer?
So what was Aubra Whitten up to all summer? And why in the world didn't she blog all summer? You know, I'm so glad you asked...
In May:
-I finished up my junior year as a communication/journalism major at MSU. I finished all my requirements for my English minor, so I'll only be taking a couple of core classes and communication classes in my final year! I think I'm really going to miss English, but not the work load/reading load.
-The day after finishing my junior year, I flew across the world to Seoul, South Korea! I spent two weeks there and in Tokyo, Japan, and had a wonderful experience. If you ever get the opportunity, please go visit both places (I'm especially partial to South Korea!). I did briefly blog about both places and I took tons of photos...if you have Facebook, you can check them out there. If not, just ask me about them. I'll be more than happy to go on and on about how wonderful the trip was!
-I started work in Starkville as a student worker for the Office of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education! (More details on that later.) This was the beginning of my first summer away from home.
-I gained another cousin when my cousin Rebecca married her husband Josh! Beautiful wedding and reception - love both of them.
In June:
-Managed to spend only two weekends in Mississippi (the rest were spent in Memphis and Philadelphia - the one in Mississippi, not the other one...for those of y'all not from Mississippi!) Went home for Pash's birthday, and visited new places in Mississippi with Tim and his family.
-Started my second student worker job as a writer and photographer for Vision, the magazine for the College of Arts & Sciences.
-Continued working my first student worker job, doing a little bit of everything - WalMart runs, errands around campus, helping with engineering conferences, filing papers, writing promotional pieces, working in Excel and Word, doing research and brainstorming for the office, filling in the for the secretary...almost every day was something different! I was hired to work as an assistant for all the childrens' camps, and those were a lot of fun. We had two weeks of art camp and one week of international camp, where I got to work with college students in the ESL program as well as Starkville kids. It was great to spend all day with them!
-Sorted through interviews and applications at The Reflector (the campus newspaper)
In July:
-Again, managed to only spend one or two weekends in Mississippi (the rest were in Memphis and Vicksburg).
-Continued working at Memorial Hall doing office work and kids camps. We did two computer camps and one dance camp. Needless to say, dance camp wore me out every day...but the girls were precious!
-Thanked the Lord for graciously giving me a free parking pass for campus (I had been walking to work every day) - Mississippi is HOT all the time, but especially in July!
-Continued working as a writer/photographer for Vision Magazine
-Enjoyed getting to know Brian Sorgenfrei, RUF's new campus minister at State. He and his wife Liza (and baby Shelby) are a great blessing from the Lord, and I look forward to getting to know them better this year. Please pray for RUF's ministry on campus; pray that the gospel would go forth and that students would come to know Christ.
In August:
-Finished working at Memorial Hall. It was a great job with wonderful coworkers and bosses!
-Finished working as a writer/photographer for Vision. It too was a great job and gave me wonderful experience! I got to write about a big variety of things-physicists helping the US Army, an undergrad doing an internship with the National Weather Service, two faculty members working to help our departments and campus as a whole be more green, and looked at some of the research and field work going on in the newly-formed anthropology department!
-Got to go home for two weeks and visit with my family and friends. It was a great summer, but it was very strange being away from home the majority of the time!
-Headed back to Starkville, started my senior year (my, oh my, I'm an old woman).
-Started back to work at The Reflector (Mississippi State's student-run, independent newspaper) as the managing editor. We've published four issues to date, and you can read us online at www.reflector-online.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/reflectoronline. And nope, I'm not ashamed of that shameless plug right there...I would love more readers. :) It's been a very challenging and stressful job, but I knew that going into it. Please do be praying for myself and the rest of the staff.
-Have been able to hang out with new friends that I met in Korea! About 61 Korean students are here for 9 months at State - please pray they would meet American friends and enjoy their time here. I have loved having them here.
So, what's on tap for this semester? One, I'm going to start blogging more. (Really. I mean it. Hold me to it, okay?) I have a teacher that recently warned us that she's going to require us to blog and answer questions via a class blog, so I figured I might as well get back into it. Two, I am prayerfully considering where the Lord wants me this time next year. I'm taking the GRE this semester (have my practice test on Saturday!), but I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm burned out on journalism and the market is awful for journalists, so I'm considering quite a few things (including paralegal school, getting my MBA, getting an English/TESOL master's degree, getting a master's in education so I could teach English or journalism). I'm leaning toward the MBA idea, but I'm not positive. Please pray that the Lord would direct me!
In May:
-I finished up my junior year as a communication/journalism major at MSU. I finished all my requirements for my English minor, so I'll only be taking a couple of core classes and communication classes in my final year! I think I'm really going to miss English, but not the work load/reading load.
-The day after finishing my junior year, I flew across the world to Seoul, South Korea! I spent two weeks there and in Tokyo, Japan, and had a wonderful experience. If you ever get the opportunity, please go visit both places (I'm especially partial to South Korea!). I did briefly blog about both places and I took tons of photos...if you have Facebook, you can check them out there. If not, just ask me about them. I'll be more than happy to go on and on about how wonderful the trip was!
-I started work in Starkville as a student worker for the Office of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education! (More details on that later.) This was the beginning of my first summer away from home.
-I gained another cousin when my cousin Rebecca married her husband Josh! Beautiful wedding and reception - love both of them.
In June:
-Managed to spend only two weekends in Mississippi (the rest were spent in Memphis and Philadelphia - the one in Mississippi, not the other one...for those of y'all not from Mississippi!) Went home for Pash's birthday, and visited new places in Mississippi with Tim and his family.
-Started my second student worker job as a writer and photographer for Vision, the magazine for the College of Arts & Sciences.
-Continued working my first student worker job, doing a little bit of everything - WalMart runs, errands around campus, helping with engineering conferences, filing papers, writing promotional pieces, working in Excel and Word, doing research and brainstorming for the office, filling in the for the secretary...almost every day was something different! I was hired to work as an assistant for all the childrens' camps, and those were a lot of fun. We had two weeks of art camp and one week of international camp, where I got to work with college students in the ESL program as well as Starkville kids. It was great to spend all day with them!
-Sorted through interviews and applications at The Reflector (the campus newspaper)
In July:
-Again, managed to only spend one or two weekends in Mississippi (the rest were in Memphis and Vicksburg).
-Continued working at Memorial Hall doing office work and kids camps. We did two computer camps and one dance camp. Needless to say, dance camp wore me out every day...but the girls were precious!
-Thanked the Lord for graciously giving me a free parking pass for campus (I had been walking to work every day) - Mississippi is HOT all the time, but especially in July!
-Continued working as a writer/photographer for Vision Magazine
-Enjoyed getting to know Brian Sorgenfrei, RUF's new campus minister at State. He and his wife Liza (and baby Shelby) are a great blessing from the Lord, and I look forward to getting to know them better this year. Please pray for RUF's ministry on campus; pray that the gospel would go forth and that students would come to know Christ.
In August:
-Finished working at Memorial Hall. It was a great job with wonderful coworkers and bosses!
-Finished working as a writer/photographer for Vision. It too was a great job and gave me wonderful experience! I got to write about a big variety of things-physicists helping the US Army, an undergrad doing an internship with the National Weather Service, two faculty members working to help our departments and campus as a whole be more green, and looked at some of the research and field work going on in the newly-formed anthropology department!
-Got to go home for two weeks and visit with my family and friends. It was a great summer, but it was very strange being away from home the majority of the time!
-Headed back to Starkville, started my senior year (my, oh my, I'm an old woman).
-Started back to work at The Reflector (Mississippi State's student-run, independent newspaper) as the managing editor. We've published four issues to date, and you can read us online at www.reflector-online.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/reflectoronline. And nope, I'm not ashamed of that shameless plug right there...I would love more readers. :) It's been a very challenging and stressful job, but I knew that going into it. Please do be praying for myself and the rest of the staff.
-Have been able to hang out with new friends that I met in Korea! About 61 Korean students are here for 9 months at State - please pray they would meet American friends and enjoy their time here. I have loved having them here.
So, what's on tap for this semester? One, I'm going to start blogging more. (Really. I mean it. Hold me to it, okay?) I have a teacher that recently warned us that she's going to require us to blog and answer questions via a class blog, so I figured I might as well get back into it. Two, I am prayerfully considering where the Lord wants me this time next year. I'm taking the GRE this semester (have my practice test on Saturday!), but I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm burned out on journalism and the market is awful for journalists, so I'm considering quite a few things (including paralegal school, getting my MBA, getting an English/TESOL master's degree, getting a master's in education so I could teach English or journalism). I'm leaning toward the MBA idea, but I'm not positive. Please pray that the Lord would direct me!
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