My internship experience

The falling economy has been a major influence in my search for an internship and a career in journalism. The competitive nature of the job market and the fact that a vast number of aspiring journalists and laid-off journalists are searching for the same internships that I am applying for made the search nearly impossible and of course filled with a lengthy amount of challenges.
I began my application process with a positive outlook which I found slowly morphed from that into something ugly. In reviewing my internship application attempts I saw that my first application was sent out as early as November 11th 2008, I was an eager student it seems. Through the months that followed I attempted to gain an internship with a wide variety of journalism fortes. This occurred until the end of July, when I finally gave up. I had sent application to newspapers ranging from Kamloops This Week, to the Province. I inquired about magazines ranging from Thompson Life to WedLux, a magazine encircling western Canada weddings. I contacted Public relations forums such as Venture Kamloops and the Kamloops Fire centre. I contacted numerous websites and every radio station and Television station I could think of.
What I learned from these encounters was one thing in particular, very few people will reply to you, even few in a timely fashion and no one will offer me an internship in the vicinity of the Kamloops area, ultimately resulting in my realization that if I wish to succeed as a journalist I would have to venture out of my happy Kamloops bubble and into a little known town in the middle of nowhere, likely in Alberta.
I wish that I had been better warned about the stress and difficulty of finding an internship. I wish I had known I would have had to send out at least 20 applications to no avail. I wish that I had been better prepared for the disappointment and the depression to follow. A warning would have been greatly appreciated.
With my dreams of becoming a journalist failing; I decided to give freelance a shot, only to find out this would be even more stressful than being turned down for numerous internships was.
Jordan Baker and I attempted a freelance article about a local organization, “the Kamloops community band,” for which we researched, interviewed and wrote up a 400 word article in a timely fashion. We submitted our story to the Kamloops Daily News with high hopes and awaited a response.
Following what we had learned in class we did no send out multiple submissions and we awaited a reply. Two and a half weeks later we had nothing. With this we had given up, I realized that freelance is a lot harder than I had originally thought. I inquired with the paper a final time and asked if they had received my article, to which they replied that it was appearing in the following day’s paper, a fact I would not have known if I had not e-mailed them again.
This lack of response and lack of manners on their behalf offended me greatly, and forced me to wonder if all editors are this rude that they do not even send out a “thanks we received your submission” e-mail.
My other attempt at freelance photography turned out to be my diamond in the rough. I found myself successful when not having to rely on the acceptance or mannerisms of other people in the media. I realized that my success will be dependant on myself. I will ultimately end up having to start my own business of sorts to be a success, or to be stress free, as odd as that sounds.
I now find myself with the possibility of a new career path, one likely not in journalism at all. In theory if I were able to gain a position in journalism I would accept it, even more so if the position were in public relations. More than likely though I will attempt to pursue a position in design of some sort, digital art is a possibility, marketing and advertising are also quite high in my mind.
In the end my experience taught me that life is a lot harder than I originally expected, the challenges that occur are merely stepping stones to another path, possibly a path that has never even been thought of before or considered in any length. I am still happy in my decision to pursue a degree in journalism but am open to the fact that I will likely have to branch out elsewhere in order to be successful or happy for that matter.
My largest realization is in the fact that I am far too creative and free-spirited of a person to be able to deal with a nine to five job in which my only requirements are to write and re-write stories designed around an inverted pyramid structure. I have a flair for art that could actually be used as an advantage rather than simply a hobby. My background, in digital art, theatre studies, acting, drawing, painting, photography, design, writing (poetry and fiction), and construction (of fences, architecture pertaining to glass installation and metal works, and a varying degree of projects)can actually be of use. I have an eye for the creative, the obscure, and the previously un-attempted; all of which could be greatly useful in a variety of other career paths. These pre-existing tools in my tool belt added to those I have encountered in journalism school, can be morphed together, to create a vast array of skills that could be used in a number of disciplines, both related to and slightly astray from journalism. In the end I think I learned a lot about myself as an individual more than I did about the world of journalism, but who is to say that is a bad thing.

Master chief- where have you gone

As a true x-box gamer I will admit that I was once addicted to Halo. I have beaten Halo 3 on Legendary and collected all of the skulls, yes even the one that requires you to jump through the hoops in order to play the halo theme. I was at the forefront of this discovery checking blogs every hour or so and attempting the impossible. I watched the trailer at the end and understood that master-chief would one day... and I began to wait. Then one day Halo wars was released... yet I found no love or connection to this addition to the trilogy, and ignored its existance for the most part. Hell I was far to busy with COD 5 to even care about this spinoff. But now after a long awaited, muchly anticipated period of time; m friend shawn has informed me that he has downloaded the new Halo on his modded x-box. I am filled with excitement, thumbs are itching for my controler, ready to camp if I must. Now I know that the game has not yet been released and as such I am forced to play under a gamer tag that is not my own... logically the people at x-box would realize we had a modded x-box if we attempted it under our own names;so here I go under a secret-gamertag, ready to take on the game without an internet connection, until its actual release date on the 22nd, at which point we can pick up some other friends across the online world and attack legendary.

A confession of a true shopoholic

I am a stereotypical girl in the fact that I have an unnaturally large collection of both purses and shoes for no apparent reason. I am not a shopoholic in the way the phrase is normally coined. What I mean by this is that I am not followed by a vast amount of credit card debt. On the contrary; I have money saved in the bank, money for a house one day, but that is a different story. My shoping impulses are brought on with boredom. I go shoping to kill time, a habbit many women suffer from you see. We are not plagued by the idea that we must own one of every shoe out there as our male conterparts often think, we are simply bored. The town I live in does not offer a large array of cheap ways to kill time. i attended my university back to school barbeque and after dropping my friend off at home and taking my dogs for a run at the park I found myself with an hour and a half to kill before work. Now logically I could have started some of my readings for one of my classes but who wants to do that when there are shops to be browsed. I entered our local "winners" store, with nothing in particular in mind to buy but with the useful knowledge that new stock came in on thursday, which it does every week, so I found myself ready too search. I begin in the purse section as I usually do and find six or seven Kathy Van Zealands that I do not need, but would very much like. I place 2 of them in my basket after a fair amount of diliberation. I then carry on to the housewheres section hitting bed, bath, kitchen and decor where it hurts... my wallet that is. I find myself in the book section hiding my pursese behind a set of photo albums knowing quite well I do not need them, but will leave them there in hopes I return richer tomorrow. Elapsed time at this point... one hour. I put down my basket in the middle of the overpowering scent of candles and proceed to leave the store, having not spent a penny today. I leave with the knowledge that I did not need anything in my basket though I certainly wanted it, and knowing that I have sucessfully killed time before work and not killed my credit. I shop out of boredom I buy out of necessity. It is a skill women need to pick up, learn that you can simply put down your basket and walk away... It would help many a family I assure you. 

Idiot proof guide to university

As a fourth year university student I have a fair understanding of the workings of University. I know where to get in line for my student card, how to skip that line by walking to the front with last years ID and asking for a sticker to update my card. I could also get the photo taken a month in advance or wait until the end of september when the lines are gone. I know where to go to get my free agenda and my U-pass sticker. I know that if I don't want to waiti in line at the bookstore for my books I can go in a week or even a month before school starts. I know to pay for and register for everything including my parking pass online. But for first and second year students this is not easily accessible information. I beleive that a "How to get around the lines" guide would be a useful thing to hand out to students on their first day of school... or mail it to them a month in advance. Why do Universities not provide this sort of information or guidebook for new students. I know that during my first year of University it would have been useful to know that I did not need to stand in line for hours for my books or for my student card in the first week of school. A step by step guide would be nice, so why not ask for one.  

Damn you plastic

In every store I enter I find myself being asked if I have a points card for their particular store. I do agree that I enjoy collecting points when I am rewarded with free items due to my being a regular customer but it is such an annoyance to have to carry a card for every place I wish to shop. I understand that is some sort of tracking system for the government to keep tabs on my shopping habits so they can sell this information to advertisers and companies can then gear their ads to certain demographics or the company can simply do this themselves but I find it to be a giant pain in the butt and a destructive matter to the environment to be required to carry a seperate card for everyone of these stores. In my opinion I have nothing against gaining points or getting discounts but I hate wasting time searching through my wallet for the right card. Or waiting for the person in from of me to search through their wallet for that matter.... Or there entire purse to find their bloody wallet in the first palce. It would be very easy if all of these items were simply changed over to one card... or a wrist band, which you could go online, sign up for everything you wanted to and bam they would all be there with your information at hand when you got to the store... Mastercard, visa and Debit card included. Though I am sure people would find ways to steal these cards... like cutting off a persons arm to steal their wrist band but the idea seems so much simpler... Another idea would be to turn all of this information into a single data base that could be accessed through our thumbprints or fingerprints for example. Nearly impossible to steal aside from burning off finger prints or cutting off peoples hands. Why not. I would be perfectly okay with the government scanning my thumbprint and allowing me access to every card in my wallet simply by placing my thumb on a scanner... Hell in "back to the future II" The cops used peoples thumbs as their ID, or a key to their home... so why the hell not. No more need for a wallet, or purse they are hassle and a terrible christmas or fathers day gift for dad, So allow the government to track us as they are already attempting its bound to get their some day anyways so Why not now

i am suzy homemaker...so what

Today, I am a called Suzy Homemaker by choice. I woke up, fed our dog, did the laundry, loadded the dishwasher and cleaned the house. I picked up a few things at the store and set out to prepare a full meal complete with a ham. This is my own undertaking, I am not obligated to be a housewife, it is a lifestyle I choose. I do npot have a husband, or children for that matter, but I do have a boyfriend and a dog... Though I suppose that's close to the same... I could see foxy making a wonderful life companion... and as for the boyfriend well yes I asuppose I could consider him a child given how much I cean up after him and need to nag him to clean his up his toys or his room. Though in this case he has slightly more expensive toys. The point I am trying to get accross here is that there is nothing wrong in my mind with being a stereotypical homemaker, it is actually quite rewarding. I do beleive in women's rights and am a firm beleiver that women do deserve the opportunity to be the primary breadwinner, but it is not a necessity. I work, I also go to school full time, and in my free time I have a number of hobbies. Some of them are slightly unconventional for a woman... 4x4ing, quading, and video gaming for example but something I truly get enjoyment out of is cooking a meal for my family. It is a truly rewarding experience preparing a meal for guests and being complimented on a job well done. I do not feel as though I am degraded as a woman by doing the cooking and cleaning, i feel empowered. Being able to prepare a delicious meal or keep a neat house it a truly rewarding experience. Though these jobs are said to be mens punishment on women for being the weaker sex I feel as though they are a priveledge, somethign that I am skilled in, yes I skill passed on to me by my mother, though some I have acquired on my own or even through my father. But I find them to be a useful skill in thir own. They are an enjoyable way to kill time and one of the things I would call a hobbie, not a chore. Cooking can take the mind off of a stressful day at work, or school, and in the end you are fed after the hobby is completed. I understand that some may find doing these things demeaning but they can truly be enjoyable if taken on in moderation and with passion to try something different and more challenging at every attempt

What is the purpose of the answering machine...

Today I set out on a freelance peice of writing with a fellow journalism student. we had the idea, the drive, and the tools to complete our task at hand... A simple article surrounding a community group that is in dire need of attention. We started out the ordeal of writing this article by calling our contacts we wishedx to interview... Sadly I got an answering machine. I was as professional as possible in leaving my message, left my name, the purpose of my call and a return phone number... all in correct and professional form. the call was left at approximately noon today. The time is now 6:00 pm... far past any time a person at a normal job would have returned home, to return my call. Now I understand I have left a message with their technologically placed secretary... But am I not allowed to call back, understand the article is of great importance but it is bad taste to call back after a person has left a message. I do suppose I will wait until tomorrow before making another move, it is just frustrating to be in this sense of telephone tag, a limbo I do not enjoy. Damn the answering machine, damn caller ID, I would rather make continuous calls every hour on the hour without seeming over eager... that is a right i would like to reserve

A challenge

Today I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" with my mother. As a writer...or aspiring one for that matter, I felt that I too should attempt a blog. The challenge I have for myself will be to write something insightful everyday for a year. Something helpful to writers, something insightful from other writers, or something inspired by the writings of others. A writers blog inspired by other writers, The purpose of which will be to help me to grow as a writer, and maybe as a person along the way. If I find myself having writers block I will simply find a quote on the internet, in a magazine, in a book, or wherever seems pertinant at the time and find an argument or inspiration of sorts within it. Adapting from the writings and styles of others will nurture my growth as a writer and allow me to become a successful one myself. So there you have it... One writer inspired by others... every day for a year 365 days to go... I seek help from the greats and the unkown, the famous and the anonymous. So for now I ask my forefathers for help... Shakespeare, Seuss, Sparks, and simply anyone else who will help me, lend me your creatity, and your muses... I am certain I will need them.

To write or not to write, that is the question

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am an avid lover of shakespeare. I always have been, I feel this obsession developed over my childhood, but truly took hold in my last year of high school. Sure you say, "everyone claims to like shakespeare, or at least every writer does," but for myself it is true. I envy his works, can quote his sonnets, and often find myself quoting him without even noticing it, but if that does not have you convinced I praise the very ground he walked on this will... I have his literature inked down my side. No it's nothing like Meghan fox's famous shakespeare tattoo, which is beautiful that is certain, but I am not a butterfly as she claims to be. I am however myself and that is but the truth. Who am I you may ask, well that is a question we all ask ourselves from time to time, well I am kaleena... but does that really mean anything. The label my parents chose for me, does that make me who I am or have any signifiicance over how I live my life... I doubt it, though for some a name can be a horrible pain when that name happens to rhyme with something that is terribly unflattering. For example if my name was pat and I happened to be a tad bit overweight I may become known as fatpat. Not really a name anyone would be proud of, but it is someones none the less. Is a name anything more than a means to address us, or track who we are, would a serial number be sufficient. If I were known by a number, such as my social security number, care card number, bank account number, or something of the like would people respond to me in a different means than they do now? If we were used to that sort of mannerism it would be perfectly acceptable to approach a stranger and say hi I'm 9524332, what's your number? Seems odd doesn't it, but that is after all how the government and most organizations address you, and you likely haven't noticed it in the least. when you get a statement from the bank does it not say "hello jane smith, account number 34527476967, we have important information about your credit report..." or do the people that send you bills not address you by your account number as well, the hospital, morgue, debt collectors, co-workers and universities too. Does our life really have anything in the least bit to do with our names... why do we even have them for that matter. The great William S once asked"What in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;" and I am wondering this now. My name has nothing to do with who I am , nothing to do with the way I live or anything for that matter, so why do we have them at all. I am what I say I am, I act as I feel and I am treated accordingly. I am " a rose by any other name." Or so says my side