As I begin through this Multimedia Production journey, there are really a few things I would expect to learn and would like to learn. Broadly, I hope to get some foundational information to effectively communicate in a modern and digital medium. Specifically, I am really looking forward to learning more about the formulation of a page or design. Getting to know what strings to pull and strategies to use to most effectively communicate with an audience is what brought me to seek a minor in journalism.
Communication with other people is what draws me to marketing, journalism, and education. Pedagogy and theorizing in classes are important, but the person behind the theories is what makes a person and business successful. Formulating a personal connection and understanding is what drives me to be successful. Compassion shapes how I approach situations and assignments, and it will likely reflect in my reporting, journalism, and blog posts.
I was in a class several years ago with a fine gentleman named Paul. He was seeking an education degree, and he and I shared several classes over two years. I got to know him very well and we became fairly close and would end up sitting near each other in nearly every class.
Paul was an Air Force pilot in his younger days who spent a lot of time in Japan and Korea. While he was in the Air Force, his family had a difficult and tumultuous time with the constant moving. He later settled down in the southwestern United States to his family. Later, Paul took his family on many trips throughout Japan, China, and much of Europe throughout the years and was a great family man who was extremely caring and compassionate.
He ended up coming to Wyoming following a career in an air conditioning business. However, once he was here, he found a calling for education. He started looking into going back to school and got his substitute teaching permit to begin fulfilling that call. I met him at this point, and eventually, he took summer courses to finish earlier and I stopped seeing him. I realized that this man whom I had come to see as a great friend was gone and I had no way of finding him again. Yet, I had his story.
This encounter is really what is pushing my journalistic interests forwards. Rather than reporting on issues or events, I would like to explore the stories behind the faces. Think of how many people do you see in a day? Walking down the street, you could pass 30 different people and never think twice about them. In the media, there is a slew of information that we are bombarded with about society’s elites who live the lives of our dreams. I want to change that in my journalism this semester.
I am currently working on a collection of ‘stories’ that may or may not be published but that I hope to communicate to some people at some point. Hopefully, this course can be an introduction to tabulating and conveying my stories and the stories of our fellow humans.
We all have a story. Why not share it?
torinperrett.travel.blog 