The End of the Road

So, the semester is coming to an end, and our last paper is over and done with. It didn't get printed correctly, though, so we have to wait until tomorrow to get our hands on the damn thing.

I guess now would be the most appropriate time to compile a list of things that I've learned over the semester.

- I have to fake being nice sometimes. I thought I would only have to deal with that at work, but oh no, making a good impression is always really important, so I have to act like some sappy kiss ass. Fantastic.
- i had to learn just about everything about news writing. Leads, quick to the point, no room for bullshit, etc etc. I had always excelled in my english classes, and I didn't necessarily stop to think that articles would be that different from essays. They really are, though. It's kind of insane. I mean, the idea is the same, and there's the thesis and all that. But there's just something about it that is so different. The content varies. You know, the essays that I write all the time are generally an analysis of something, whether it be a film, book, poem, or anything of that nature. With articles I'm the one delivering information to people. I don't have to prove WHY something happened, I just have to let people know that it did. Raising awareness FTW! Woo!
- Interviews are much more complicated than I imagined. Some people [as I experienced with my first article] DO NOT like being interviewed. They don't want their name printed, or anything. It's lame, and stupid, and I hate that journalists sometimes have terrible reputations. You think people would just be....better. Then they wouldn't have to worry about shit. Buh. So, an interview can either go really well, or really terribly, depending on the attitude of the interviewee. Now, another factor is that an interview might go really well, but you might get shitty information. They might not tell you anything interesting. One guy I spoke to kept talking about the same thing over and over again, but he just worded it differently each time. I wanted to smack the guy! BLAH!
- Selling ads kind of sucks. I'm not really a fan, and I suck at bargaining/negotiating with people. I'm not clever/sly enough to pull it off. People always want to pay less than we ask, and it pisses me off. I just end up getting frustrated with people. I don't want to do business stuff. No thank you.
- I can't believe how many errors I've found after people have exported their shit. HELLO!!!!!! Skimming over a page doesn't mean that you caught all the errors! You have to READ every fucking word! lsfjgldksgjl;sgjlk;djfkl;sjfgl;kdfjgasdf
- I learned how to use InDesign! Granted, I'd never had to use it before, and I had no idea what it was before this semester, I still learned how to meander around the program and do a thing or two for design.
- I learned a lot about myself this semester. I initially took journalism because I wanted to be sure that I wasn't missing out on something that I might enjoy more than what I'm currently doing. I wanted to be sure that majoring in music was the right choice for me. I thought that since I loved writing, journalism would be a great thing to try. I learned that music is definitely what I'll want to do for the rest of my life, and that I have the capability to do a lot more than I give myself credit for. I just need to get out there and do what needs to be done. I can't put things off. I have to be the responsible one; I can't rely on anyone else.
- As a whole, we all learned how to interact with other people, how to work in a sometimes stressful environment without ripping peoples' heads off, and how to put together a really great paper. We learned how to criticize people without insulting them, and I learned that I'm kind of intimidating, and all I need to do is stick up for myself.

This class was a really great experience for me, and I'm sad that I won't be able to come back next semester. I'll definitely stop by when I can, and I'll make everyone I know read the paper when it comes out! I made some really great friends that I'll continue to hang out with, and I hope that everyone else was able to gain as much as I did from working on The Voice this semester.

This might be the last dinner for teachers because a lot of them might not be back next semester.
Budget cuts are affecting everyone all the time.
Pink slip unhappy sad teacher no more adjunct write this in your article. Ok.