My Definition Article
Most of us always have someone we look up to. It can be a historic figure, an artist, a mentor, a friend, a family member, a neighbor...you get my point. When we have the opportunity to work close to them or share our life with these people, we try to learn from them as much as possible. At least that's my case. There are several people I admire for different reasons; it might be their personality, their knowledgeable experiences, their novelty, or just because they've marked my life in a special way helping me re-define myself to become a better human being."How do you define yourself?" You either hate or love to brag about yourself when an interviewer or an instructor asks you this in front of a class. In my case, I fall in the middle category: I might want to talk about it without overdoing it. O.K. Mr. Hugo Pérez (He is my current Information and Search Strategies Instructor at Columbia) I'll give you my definition. You know the basics, (sex, major, student status, physical description) so I'll skip them. At this time I can define myself in two words, Strong and Sensitive(I know their 3, but the middle one keeps a balance between them).
I chose to be Strong and Sensitive because their definitions can be opposite, but powerful at the same time. On my strong side you can find elements such as: my independence, my persistence, my challenges, my objectives, and my achievements. On my sensitive side are, my spirituality, my appreciation of life, my passions, my dedication, my feelings, my detail orientation, and my awareness of my surroundings. I think I'm taking a philosophical path with this answer, but don't worry, to show a different perspective of my definition, I've asked two important personalities in my life to help me by answering some simple questions.
The first person I talked to is partially responsible of my existence...No, I did not interview God o.k. (not this time). I'm talking about Juan Carlos Leal, my Dad. He's an Independent Truck Driver in the United States. I'm really proud of him and my mom as well…they make a sexy couple. Anyways, Leal (My dad) defines my personality as "extroverted and secure...you know how to focus on those things you desire, and you are intelligent and brave enough to continue working on your objectives." On the other hand, my mentor Cheryl Morton-Langston (Radio Department Faculty) makes it simple "Strong people skills, passionate, self-starter," these is what she thinks defines me best.
I'm glad to know that persons that have made a difference in my life notice important elements that define me. A part of my personality has a combination of the best qualities of those persons I look up to. However, my dad thinks, "I (Karla) have been the most influential person in my life" (I guess this means that at the end I make the decisions). Leal says, my mom and him influenced my personality by creating a positive environment (You have no idea how positive my parents are), and by giving me tools to create a successful mind thought. On the other hand, Cheryl identifies "curiosity, dedication, and great work ethic" as qualities that I posses and that will help me become a successful journalist..."And you are Bilingual!" she emphasized.
I never thought I would ask this type of questions to my parents or to my mentor. My assignment was to interview two persons asking them about myself...has any journalist done this before? I'm not sure, but what I do know is that by tomorrow at 5pm more than 10 of my classmate-colleagues will publish some article of this sort.
For me it this has been a powerful experience, that's why I saved the most important questions for the end. I asked my dad, "What can I do to become a better person?" his words were powerful, I need to quote them as they were said, "Para llegar a ser una mejor Persona..... TENDRAS QUE DESCUBRIR POR TI MISMA LA EXISTENCIA DE DIOS, Y AMARLO Y POR CONSECUENCIA AMAR A LOS DEMAS." What he is saying is that I need to be in tune with God, and while I love him, I will be able to love others as well.
In the same way, I asked Cheryl, "What can I do to become a better journalism student, and in the future a proficient journalist?" and her answer was explained in the following 9 points:
*Stay abreast of current events locally, nationally and internationally-become a voracious reader. Read local papers, a national daily paper like the Washington Post; listen to radio news, watch television news on a regular basis--eat and breathe news! etc.
*For on air work, learn how to become a good storyteller for any kind of air work. That means practice, record your work and constantly critique your work and have someone else critique your work.
*Learn how to work independently!
*Stay abreast of the changing technologies in the news business.
*Learn how to work under pressure...become versatile--it can lead to specialized reporting duties.
*While I haven’t seen any of your news writing just about every student has a problem in this area....Good writing and reporting skills are crucial to becoming a great journalist....Writing, writing, and more writing will determine your success in the news business and writing is the basic foundation to many jobs in a news room. I can not stress writing enough...also develop the ability to capture the essence of a news story...in other words, you can't write a good story if you don't understand it.
*Develop the ability to ad-lib and report extemporaneously.
*Learn how to be versatile in broadcast news especially for the converged newsroom of the future.
*Get a broad liberal education-- and stay curious about the world in which you live.
I quoted Cheryl's answer entirely because I know this is valuable information for near-future journalists like me. I want to thank you Cheryl for providing me with all these great tips; now I know I'm not the only one that struggles with the news writing aspect. I'm working on some of the items you mention, and as I acquire more skills, I continue in a path of personal and professional growth.
Dad, I want to thank you as well for believing in me, and for giving me the opportunity to experience College life far away from home. Know that I do have a connection with God, a very special one actually, but I don't externalize it because I can't explain it, and I need to be better informed about certain religious aspects. However, I do believe there's a time for everything, and sooner or later I all my questions will be answered.
Hugo thanks for letting me do this exercise; I got more than I expected out of it.
And last but not least, I encourage You Reader (Yes I'm talking to you!), to take an opportunity to do what I just did. You don't necessarily need to write about it, but the insight from those persons you talk to will definitely make a difference in your life.
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