I'm gonna be a journalist!*

No.  Actually I’m not.  But I’m still excited about journalism, and I got an A on my last paper, and I finished my Chem. Lab Speedy Gonzales quick today (this usually never happens), so I have some time to write a post.

This post is so I can “get discovered.”  Because I’m gonna be a journalist.  Right…  Basically we’re encouraged in the class to have a blog to practice writing and reporting and other sorts of journalistic things, and so when we’re applying for a job we can be like, “Look what I’ve done!”  However since I don’t actually want to be a journalist, I’m just doing this for fun.  Anyway, here is a sample of my work, so all those big companies like the New York Times and the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicles can find me and hire me.  It’s an analysis of print vs. online journalism, and where the future of the journalism world lies.  Kind of ironic – if any of you big wigs are out there reading this – well I guess I don’t stand a chance at getting hired based solely on my content.  So here goes:

Newspapers a thing of the past?

We live in a dynamic world.  Everything is changing constantly – politics, religion, the environment, technology, and even journalism.  From the traditional “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” paper boys selling the day’s hot-off-the-press newspaper to today’s 24-hour news cycle and 15-second sound bites; journalism has progressed significantly and may never look back.  Just a few weeks ago the New York Times said that at some point in the near future it will cease printing the actual paper altogether and rely only on online journalism.  Following this announcement the Boston Globe exposed its plan of next year having two web sites, one that is free with limited content, and one with full content that requires a subscription.  These steps are the first in the mainstream journalism world to convert fully to online operation, and the future of journalism as a whole may soon be viewed only through a computer scene.  However is this what is best?  Or by switching wholeheartedly to online, are we losing some intrinsic value of reading a printed newspaper?  To answer this question, we must analyze print versus online journalism.  By following the Boston Herald both online and in print, we can weigh the consequences and benefits of this situation.

The printed form of the Boston Herald reads like a magazine, articles from cover to cover mixed in with pictures and advertisements.  It makes it difficult to look for a specific story or topic if you haven’t had much experience with the paper.  The first portion of the paper consists of general news followed by editorials, comics, food, and obituaries, and the final section of sports. The online version however, fits more with the format of a typical online newspaper website.  There are tabs specifying which section you may want to read: news, local coverage, sports, entertainment, obituaries, classifieds, etc., making it easier to navigate.  The online version maintains the tabloid feel by using more informal language, more pictures, and more sensationalism than a regular newspaper such as the New York Times.  The printed form of the Boston Herald is superior to the online form in the same way that any newspaper is.  You can take it with you on the bus or train, you don’t need any kind of technology to get the news, no internet is required, and you have something tangible in front of you, which may or may not in your opinion be a plus.  The printed and the online versions are similar in that they, for the most part, contain the same stories and the same pictures.  As far as quality goes, you’re getting the same product.  However content changes throughout the day as news is created and added to the online version.  The printed newspaper lacks this quick update ability and only contains the news from yesterday.

As it stands now, print vs. online journalism is a matter of preference.  However this may change if online becomes the only option.  With the rate of new technology being produced increasing exponentially, and the number of people with computer and internet access skyrocketing, it stands very probable that newspapers in printed form may indeed disappear altogether someday, an obsolete thing of the past, with newspaper companies instead charging for online content.  With no overriding benefit of printed journalism, eventually, the online newspaper will become the only newspaper.  Forcing readers to pay for online content is a right of the company.  In journalism, news reports are the marketed product, and without income from the product the company as a whole stands to go bankrupt.  Readers can always choose to go elsewhere for their news source; they are not forced to pay for online content.  In our progressive innovative world, change is inevitable, and it is only a matter of time before that change hits the journalism world as well.

*If I were actually going to delve into this profession then you can be sure that it would be phrased in a much more journalistic and professional manner.

Top 5 Reasons I am SUPER DUPER EXCITED!

Essentially… I started to write this/wanted to write this/needed to write this on Friday.  However a combination of life and Chuck got in the way.  So now it is Sunday night/about to be Monday morning, and I am finally getting about to what I began 3 days ago.

So, I was SUPER DUPER EXCITED then.  And I still am, it’s just not shown as exuberantly.  Inside I’m still 1000 little purple people jumping up and down and up and down and up and down in the purest most true from of joy imaginable.  And here is why:

5) Journalism – I really am enjoying my journalism class.  In fact they almost convinced me to switch to a journalism major the other day!  Not really… I like biology too much, but I believe I have found my second love.  That is, I’m sure, until I have to write another essay.  Anyway, on Friday we heard from 617-Patrick.  His real name is Patrick O’Malley, but he changed it for a number of reasons I’d go into if I was COMPLETELY into journalism, but I’m not.  So he talked about how social media plays a role in journalism, and specifically how we as young journalists (he didn’t know I was a bio major) can use social media to our advantage.  And would ya just guess what he talked the most about? Blogs!  So here are a few fun facts:

           

A) There are about 200,000,000 blogs out there.

B) 94% of them are only read by the author. (This means that Valerie, Elika, Meghan, and whoever else that I’m following is already doing better than 94% OF THE ENTIRE BLOGGING WORLD!)

C) Blogs (or anything on the internet for that matter) are more likely to show up on Google or other search engines if they have “incoming links.”  Essentially, the more times other articles reference your blog, the higher up Goggle will rank you in a search.

Also, for my journalism class we have a mid-term reporting project.  The topic I chose is Freedom of the Press.  For the project we had to interview a professional or expert in the field, so after much difficulty and lots and lots of phone calls I finally found one lawyer in the city of Boston who was willing to spend 40 minutes talking to a freshmen college student at Northeastern University who is doing a project for a journalism class but who doesn’t actually want to be a journalist*.  And I had the interview TODAY!  And even though I was super nervous that he was going to a) think my questions were dumb or b) use words and phrases that would leave me hopelessly confused and lost, neither of my fears came true and it turned out to be a very successful interview.  So in brief, journalism makes me happy.

4) Fish – This Thursday, instead of having another lecture in biology, we got to play with fish!  You know, the whole put-a-mirror-in-front-of-a-beta-fish-and-watch-him-get-all-mad… But this was awesome because we didn’t even have to answer any of the lab questions AND we got to keep the fish!  So I now have a new fish.  He needs a name.  Any suggestions?  I was thinking of Dash from “The Incredibles.”  Not that he’s fast, he hardly moves much actually, but that’s my favorite movie.  The last time this name was used however was freshmen year Biology class, when Rachel and I decided our rat that we were dissecting needed a name…  I’m just not sure if I can use it again after that.

3) Service – I love volunteering!  And I will expound upon this topic more fully when it’s not past midnight with class at 9 am the next morning!

2) Friends – I have just completed** what I am going to call my best project yet.  Though I have had some pretty good projects, I think this one tops in quantity, randomness***, and most likely to make the most people smile.  I have mailed out/delivered 40 survival kits.  And I would explain more here, however some haven’t yet received them, and so as not to ruin the AWESOME surprise, I will keep quite on the issue until a later date.  So if you’re wondering now “What the heck is she talking about!?” – patience my young padawon. 

1) EQUADOR! – I HAVE DECIDED WHAT TO DO OVER SPRING BREAK I AM GOING TO EQUADOR TO VISIT VALERIE AND DO COMMUNITY SERVICE AT HER SCHOOL AND I AM REALLY SUPER DUPER EXCITED FOR THIS AND THIS IS THE UNDERLYING REASON FOR THIS ENTIRE POST AND ALL OF MY EMOTIONS AT PRESENT AND I CANNOT CONTAIN THE 1000 LITTLE PURPLE PEOPLE JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN IN THE PUREST MOST TRUE FORM OF JOY IMAGINABLE INSIDE OF ME AT THE MOMENT EVEN IF IT IS ALMOST 12:30 IN THE MORNING AND I AM REALLY REALLY TIRED SO VALERIE AND EQUADOR HERE I COME I CANNOT WAIT I’LL SEE YOU IN MARCH****

And some other reasons why I’m happy….

Although it was parent weekend which made me kinda sad because it seemed like I was the ONLY kid there without a parent…. It was still made good on account of

a) I got a care package with homemade banana bread!

b) I also got yellow silly putty, a yellow squishy ball, and a yellow bottle of bubbles! (and yellow is my favorite color!)

c) I have a letter covered in purple duct tape to be mailed to Valerie if I can find a post office!

d) I just had the most amazing day with Heather and her grandparents touring Boston and Boston Harbor!

e) I got a care package from Brittney right when I was feeling the most left out of parent weekend, full of fun things plus an awesome CD of pictures and memories from youth group!

f) CHUCK!

g) and finally LIFE*****!

And that is it.

*That is a run on sentence if I ever saw one…

**Almost

***Yes that is a measure of success.

****Yeah I didn’t feel like putting punctuation in.

*****I am so blessed and I thank God every day for the life and love He has given me.  Praise be to God!

10 Things To Do Before I Turn 30*

1) Learn how to play the guitar.  I put this first, because I actually want to learn how to do this now.  Like right now.  The only problem is I don’t have a guitar… So I may have to wait till Christmas Break when I go home.  Or make a friend who has a guitar.  I should get on that.  But basically my reasons behind this a) I think people who play the guitar are awesome and I want to be like them b) I can play lots of other instruments like the oboe, flute, piccolo, and sax, but you don’t really play those in a group, and I want to be able to play with people and sing along, and c) I like to sing, and singing with a guitar is just so much better.  And while the uke is awesome... that's kind of Valerie's thing, and being able to play "Accidentally in Love" doesn't count as actually knowing how to play.  Plus, there is a picture of me on my wall right now of me pulling an air guitar at the good old age of 2.  It was meant to be.

2) Run a marathon.  I want to do this pretty soon also, maybe in the next year or two.  I have to build up the strength in my knee first though because of my surgery this summer, but once that’s good to go I’ll be training for the 26.2 miler.  Though I’m living in Boston, I don’t think the Boston marathon will be my first.  Instead I have my sights set on the “Land of the Midnight Sun Run” in Fairbanks, Alaska on June 21^st.

3) Hike the Appalachian Trail.  This has been a goal of mine ever since summer after junior year of high school when I went camping in Vermont for 3 weeks as a part of a conservation crew.  We hiked Mt. Moosilauke, one of the highest peaks on the AT, and I decided then and there that one year hopefully soon you’ll find me in Georgia starting out on my long trek to Maine.

4) Backpack around Europe.  This I think is just about every college student’s dream.  And being marooned** in Alaska for the last 19 years of my life I think has enhanced my yearnings to see the world.  There is so much of the world that my naïve eye has yet to see, and as soon as that chance comes you can bet I’m going to jump.

5) Work in a research lab.  This I’ve wanted to do since the moment I was born.  Ok, not really, but pretty much as soon as I knew what science was.  Now I am at a place where that dream could become a reality very soon; either through CO-OP, an internship, undergraduate (if I’m lucky enough), or graduate school.  One way or another this WILL happen.

6) Graduate from college.  I don’t really have any worries about this as of now, but I figured it would be a good thing to have on the list.

7) Be a youth group leader.  I truly admire the youth group leaders that I have had in the past, and I would love to return the favor as a mentor to other youth as they progress through their middle school and high school years.  And a side note, playing the guitar would contribute nicely to this as well.

8) Learn how to do a handstand. Why not!? (And I’m running out of ideas at the moment….)

9) Volunteer a year of my life.  If I can’t give up a whole year at one time, then volunteer the equivalent by the time I turn 30.  Working 40 hours a week that equates to about 2000 volunteer hours.

10) Enjoy life – Laugh often – Smile for the heck of it – Love God – Make friends – Simply live – Hold my head high – And be myself.  Yupp, I’m set.


*I would call this my bucket list, but I hope to live beyond the age of 30.

**Ok, not really marooned.  I’ve traveled a fair amount, but only in the US.  The Yukon Territory and British Colombia do no count.

The Land of Everything Purple

So often we refer to moments in our childhood to explain the situation at present, however subconsciously.   Not to say that everything transfers, if it did the world would be a much simpler place, but it got me thinking.  Here is a quintessential part of my childhood that I recalled a few days back, and I’m not going to analyze the meaning, but rather just share this experience in the form of a bed time story that was so often told to me before drifting off to sleep.

THE LAND OF EVERYTHING PURPLE

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, there lived a princess by the name of Emily* in the Land of Everything PURPLE**.  Everything was PURPLE. The trees were PURPLE, the grass was PURPLE, the sky was PURPLE, even the people were PURPLE!  Princess Emily loved PURPLE. 

One day, Princess Emily and her brother Noah went for a walk, and while they were walking, they came across a little boy walking his dog and wearing a BLUE hat.  Now, Emily had never seen a BLUE hat before, but she knew that you could not wear a BLUE hat in the land of everything PURPLE.  So Emily went up to the little boy and said, “Excuse me! But do you realize that you are wearing a BLUE hat in the Land of Everything PURPLE?”  And the boy said, “Well yes, that’s cause I like to be…  DIFFERENT!”

So Princess Emily and her brother continued along on their walk, mulling*** over this new and crazy idea, when they came across a little girl jumping rope.  And the little girl had on a PINK skirt, RED shoes, and was holding an ORANGE jump rope!  So Princess Emily walked up to the girl and said, “Excuse me!  But do you realize that you are wearing a PINK skirt, RED shoes, and have an ORANGE jump rope and you are in the Land of Everything PURPLE?”  And the little girl responded, “Well yes, that’s cause I like to be… DIFFERENT!”

Two people in one day!  What could be next?  Princess Emily and Noah continued their walk and it wasn’t long before they came across and man walking to the park.  And this man had on GREEN pants, a YELLOW shirt, a RED tie, BROWN shoes, and was carrying an ORANGE ball!  And Emily could not believe her eyes****!  She went right up to the man and said, “Excuse me!!!  Do you realize that you are wearing GREEN pants, a YELLOW shirt, a RED tie, BROWN shoes, and have an ORANGE ball and you are in the Land of Everything PURPLE!?”  And the man replied, “Well yes, that’s cause I like to be… DIFFERENT *****!”

So Emily and Noah went home and decided that it was good to be different, and a little other colors might not hurt the place.  And that is why today the sky is BLUE, the grass is GREEN, the sun is YELLOW, apples are RED, and oranges are ORANGE, and everybody knows that it’s good to be… DIFFERENT!

THE END 

* [insert name of your child here]

** I don’t recall if this was on account of that actually being my favorite color or not

*** Probably not “mulling” when I was like 5…

**** Not because those clothes would look horrendous together, though I’m sure that is true too.

***** If you didn’t guess that by now… well yeah get some help.

NUHOC

This past weekend was the “NUcomers” trip for the Northeastern University Husky Outdoor Club (NUHOC, incase you didn’t make the connection).  We left Friday night and began our 3 and a half hour drive up to New Hampshire to the lodge for the long Columbus Day weekend.

Friday began as usual with my 8 A.M. Interpreting The Day’s News Class.  However instead of returning to IV* after class for a breakfast of waffles followed by a nap, I headed off to the library to finish my homework so I could be footloose and fancy free over the weekend.  Two lab reports, one analytical essay, and one “Smartworks**” assignment later, I emerged at about 5 P.M., thoroughly brainwashed and ready to escape into the wilderness for a good three days.

With about an hour till departure, I called home to check in and began to pack.  All was well until I had to pick a water bottle to take along. 

As most of you know, I have had the same “life is good” pink water bottle for the last 3 years (see above).  It was a gift from Valerie for my 16^th birthday, and served me well through various sports seasons, hikes, and just life in general.  However, it has now developed perpetual smell that is unrelenting no matter how many times I wash it.  Though sad to see it’s service come to an end, I have now officially retired my water bottle to a shelf, only to be used to hold memories from now on.  So now that my epitaph for my water bottle is complete, I will now move on to more exciting matters.  Namely, a new water bottle! 

This is the NUHOC water bottle, and yes, you are reading that right, it really does say “We do it in the woods.”

Packing complete, commence driving, skip the details they really aren’t that interesting anyway.  Arrive at camp, set up tent, wander around a little, SLEEP***!  And it is now Saturday morning.

After being awoken by a bugle fanfare, I rolled out of my cocoon of warmth and begrudgingly stepped out into the frigid air****.  Breakfast, pack a lunch, and sign up for a trip.  I chose Shilba-Mariah (or something that sounded something like that), a 14-mile hike right out of the lodge.  Unfortunately, between having a leader who had never hiked this before, a map no one knew how to read (we didn’t know where we started from), and 11 college students each with a different opinion, we really stood no chance in complete success.  So after wandering for over an hour in the wrong direction, we finally turned around and found the correct way up, which turned the episode into about a 17 miler.

View from the log graveyard where we turned around to go find the right trail

The top revealed a beautiful view of the White Mountains, accompanied with winds that could blow you over.  I solved this problem by nesting myself in a divot of bushes and hunkering down for lunch, the rest of the group soon followed.

The group at the top -- about to be blown off the mountain by the wind

View from the top

The remainder of the day was spent by the fire talking and playing games with fellow NUHOCers.  Dinner however proved to be quite an affair.  The cooking crew had been working for hours to create two ENORMOUS***** pots of chili when we heard a loud crash, the sound of glass breaking.  Assuming it was a bottle of some sort or a cup maybe, nobody paid much attention.  Until the NUHOC president gathered everyone’s attention and informed us that there had been an accident rendering the chili inedible and that pasta was being prepared and pizza was on the way.  Apparently one of the propane lamps in the kitchen that has been there since the lodge was built (about 40 years ago) was bumped and fell, landing on the head of the chili stirrer and shattering in and around the chili pots.  Everything turned out all right in the end, there were just a lot of very hungry college students for about an hour longer.

Sunday was a more relaxed day.  Morning routine repeated, with a different/easier assortment of hikes/outings to choose from.  I chose to go to Mt. Willard, what I would describe as a New Hampshire version of the Butte – if you can find it.  We eventually did make it there, just with an extra 40 minutes or so of driving in the wrong direction first.  The summit yielded a remarkable view of the valley below considering how short the hike was, but we all had a good time.  From there we went apple picking******.  The day ended like the first, except with no chili incident, and a night with “American Pie” and other songs around the campfire.  Yes, life is good.

Top of Mt. Willard

One last anecdote from the trip: shirts.  They ordered specific men’s and women’s shirts this year, which was a problem if you were a women and ordered a small thinking it was men’s.  As a result, they had way too many women’s small shirts, and people who ordered that size took a larger sized instead, so when I finally got my shirt, even though I ordered a medium, small was all that was left.  Here is my skintight belly shirt.

Yes, there are moose with laser beams coming out of their eyes... Don't ask me what the green stuff is.

And finally, Monday morning we packed up and headed home.  Other than getting caught in “return-home-from-Columbus-day-weekend-traffic” it was pretty much non eventful, though the trip back took about twice as long as it should have.  And after showering, laundry, and a reunion with friends, I sat down to write this, because I finished all my homework on Friday.  And now that it is nearly 10 o’clock, and I am very tired, I am going to bed. 

Good night everyone, and God bless.

~Emily

*International Village, my dorm for those of you who don’t know.

**An idiotic, frustrating online homework submission site that may as well be called “Dumbworks” for what it’s worth.  Not to mention the fact that I have to pay $30 a semester to subscribe to it simply so I can pass Chemistry.  Needless to say, I’m kind of irked.

***You may not think it gets that cold here, but let me tell you, it was quite a cold night.  Thank goodness for lots of layers, a mummy bag, and body heat.

****I really like this sentence.

*****Seriously, these things were huge.   I have never seen so large a pot in my entire life.

******We were going to go to Ripley Falls, which I was very eager to see, however apples triumphed.