This past week of my life has been incredible-incredibly stressful and incredible gratifying.
My Reporting class (as I had mentioned) requires that I build a “beat” or area of concentration for the articles that I will produce all semester long. I chose Hispanics in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, NC.
I spent the majority of my week building that beat-beginning friendships with people who will help me write successful stories, and people that carry heavy weight in the community.
I had the satisfaction of infiltrating the Carrboro Police Department and the Chapel Hill Police Department where I was lucky enough to meet two good men who are interested in helping my cause and in helping the Hispanics in the community.
My meetings did not end there, but stretched out into other surrounding counties and I was able to put together my first story about immigration status and Carrboro’s disinterest in violating human rights just for the sake of sending folks back across the border.
This week I have met several folks that that have fascinated me on several levels. I am only beginning, have just began to taste the tiny morsels of journalism, and yet I see how much I could give my life away to this endeavor.
I love the speed, the business, the continual information and invitation to become a part of another world. And perhaps that is why I am enjoying it so much. I love the personal story behind the faces I meet, I love their tone, their passion, and I love the fact that I can immerse myself into their world completely, before returning to my own.
I love how easy it is to talk to people and how much I enjoy asking question after question. The only time I have ever been comfortable talking about me is when I am nervous…I much prefer to know about the other person. What do we learn from ourselves? How much can we learn from others?
I know this much-if God so intends I wish to continue my articles and work my “beat” well past my current semester. There are hundreds of stories I could tell and many that I can expose.
Every day I am finding more and more of the path that I was supposed to walk. I have possibly found a law program-one that would benefit the immigration community and one that might forgive a large part of my school debt.
I am lucky enough to have the guidance of my Father by my side, and to know that with trust I will find His way.
Yes, I say-I am finding my way……
(The post before this is my first news piece for Reporting)
