Monday, October 29, 2012
Halloween
Halloween, personally, is my favorite holiday. Not because everyone gets to dress up, but because I love fall. Fall symbolizes a changing point, from hot weather to cool weather. Activities change, food changes, drinks change... it comes at the perfect time where you're a little too sick of warm weather and need some change in your schedule. Unfortunately its a time when EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE is getting sick. It's repulsive. People are coughing everywhere, you can't breath fresh air in class because so many people are sneezing and you just feel gross all the time. Seriously, as fantastic as Halloween is, you just can't catch a break. This week marks the THIRD week in a row I've been sick. And on top of that I haven't even gotten to dress up, carve a pumpkin or eat a caramel apple.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Journalism Emphasis Areas
Choosing an emphasis area is down to the wire. After hearing all sorts of options, it seems impossible to choose an area that I will have to immerse myself in the next few years of college and ultimately shape what I do with the rest of my life. This is not a light decision. With someone so indecisive as me, who changes her mind on a weekly basis, I'm absolutely lost.
When I first came to Mizzou from Wisconsin, for Journalism, I planned on getting into Magazine journalism. But with everything transitioning to digital media, I started looking at my other options. I love social media, I love visuals and I love videos, so I thought, great, Convergence. After being in J2150 this semester, I appreciate the creativity and work to it all, but I'm just not very good at taking pictures or filming video. I get more nervous about capturing the video and what I'm doing right in comparison to how excited I get. If this doesn't come naturally, it probably won't be for me. So that's out. Then there is Strat Comm. Growing up with a father who is in business, and interning at a Marketing firm as a social media intern, I LOVED Strat Comm and thought it would be the perfect path for me. But after looking at the classes I would take, like business, etc., I don't want to do business classes. Broadcast, Print, etc. are all out of the question for various reasons.
Ultimately, I love writing and I love photography and I love editing. But which do I choose? There are too many negatives to each emphasis and I can't decide what exactly I want to do with the rest of my life because I'm still learning all of it.
AHH stressed.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Journalism Emphasis
As the semester peaks, students in the J school have to start applying to their emphasis areas inside the journalism school. Some people came here with a clear idea of what they wanted to do exactly, example, magazine journalism. For me, I had/have NO idea. At first I loved magazine journalism, and still do, but I need to be realistic about where the most jobs lie once I graduate school in 3 years. I want to be a part of the future of journalism and don't want to be left behind in the dust doing print journalism. Applications for Fall 2013 will be released in November and until then I have to decide what I want my emphasis area to be. Being a journalism student is really rewarding, but extremely difficult to manage. I'm hoping all of this hard work and time I'm putting into this will pay off in the long run.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Chicago Marathon
This past weekend, after 5 months of training, I ran the Chicago Marathon. All of my miles, all of my hard work, all of my anxiety, all of my excitement was packed into ONE day, FOUR hours. How I chose to begin those 4 hours would make or break the goal I set for myself, and determined if those 5 months of training would pay off.
It did.
My goal for the marathon was under 4 hours, and I completed it in 3 hours and 51 minutes (missing the Boston Marathon qualifying time by a mere 6 minutes for my age group). Before the marathon, I was a nervous wreck. When someone would cough by me, I would cover my mouth a run away, wish I was kidding. When I got hit by a bike (see other blog post), I was so afraid my concussion and my side bruise (forgot the fancy name the ER doctor called it) would interfere with my training. On top of that, I was diagnosed with severe anemia because I'm a vegetarian, among other bizarre eating habits, being a runner and a very OCD healthy eater, control freak... I've come to terms with this.
On race day, I took advantage that I was healthy, I was with my family, friends, I was running for the American Cancer Society and had been fundraising for just as long as I had been training, and that I was blessed to be in the position that I was because not many people have the opportunity to experience what I had. The race started, my nerves creeped, and before I knew it (as cliche as that sounds, I think my mind blacked the pain out) I was at mile 13, 17, 22, 24 and rounding the corner to complete the .2 mileage that to anyone, would seem easy after running 26 miles, but what was actually the most difficult part of the race. My brother ran the first 13 miles with me (on a whim because he's such a fantastic runner that 13 miles is nothing to him) and the last 2. Without his encouragement, I doubt I would've finished the race.
Although I am so proud of myself, and so proud to tell people I ran the marathon in under 4 hours, and how it has been a goal of mine to run a marathon before I'm 20 (I turn 20 in April), I am more appreciative of everyone else running the marathon. There were people out there running it for themselves, yes, setting new course records and new PR's, but there were people out there half running half walking, who maybe weren't in the best running shape, but they were giving it all they could. There were men and women in wheelchairs, being passed up by all the runners, but were working their arms as fast as they could go. There were blind people being guided through by guides that were encouraging them, and people who had illnesses who were running it sponsoring a charity. It's breathtaking, and makes me so happy to see those people who had to overcome something, and work hard for something to be there.
During the run, I felt like the people I was running with were MY people, MY group. My success was their success, because we all were a part of the same thing, supporters included. A marathon is a joint effort, there is no one person better than the other because we all were out there running the same course, seeing the same signs and experiencing the same atmosphere. As strange as it sounds, I gained a newfound respect for people as a whole. I was so appreciative of everyone that came out and ran it, who was training just as long, or even longer than I had, that put all their effort and all they had into this one Sunday morning.
The Chicago Marathon is an experience that I'll hold dear forever. Not only did I accomplish my goal, and prove to myself I had it in me do to something not many people even WANT to think about (really, who in their sane mind wants to run for 4 hours straight?), but I gained a newfound respect and perspective of people just like me who are in it for the greater good, and it in to prove to themselves and others that they have what it takes. It was an incredibly emotional experience for me, I had to hold back the urge to hug everyone that finished by me because not only, was I so happy it was over, I was so excited for everyone who felt that same empowerment I did!
So congrats to everyone who OWNED the Chicago Marathon this year. Even though nobody but my professor reads this blog and now I sound like a weirdo talking to myself.
It did.
My goal for the marathon was under 4 hours, and I completed it in 3 hours and 51 minutes (missing the Boston Marathon qualifying time by a mere 6 minutes for my age group). Before the marathon, I was a nervous wreck. When someone would cough by me, I would cover my mouth a run away, wish I was kidding. When I got hit by a bike (see other blog post), I was so afraid my concussion and my side bruise (forgot the fancy name the ER doctor called it) would interfere with my training. On top of that, I was diagnosed with severe anemia because I'm a vegetarian, among other bizarre eating habits, being a runner and a very OCD healthy eater, control freak... I've come to terms with this.
On race day, I took advantage that I was healthy, I was with my family, friends, I was running for the American Cancer Society and had been fundraising for just as long as I had been training, and that I was blessed to be in the position that I was because not many people have the opportunity to experience what I had. The race started, my nerves creeped, and before I knew it (as cliche as that sounds, I think my mind blacked the pain out) I was at mile 13, 17, 22, 24 and rounding the corner to complete the .2 mileage that to anyone, would seem easy after running 26 miles, but what was actually the most difficult part of the race. My brother ran the first 13 miles with me (on a whim because he's such a fantastic runner that 13 miles is nothing to him) and the last 2. Without his encouragement, I doubt I would've finished the race.
Although I am so proud of myself, and so proud to tell people I ran the marathon in under 4 hours, and how it has been a goal of mine to run a marathon before I'm 20 (I turn 20 in April), I am more appreciative of everyone else running the marathon. There were people out there running it for themselves, yes, setting new course records and new PR's, but there were people out there half running half walking, who maybe weren't in the best running shape, but they were giving it all they could. There were men and women in wheelchairs, being passed up by all the runners, but were working their arms as fast as they could go. There were blind people being guided through by guides that were encouraging them, and people who had illnesses who were running it sponsoring a charity. It's breathtaking, and makes me so happy to see those people who had to overcome something, and work hard for something to be there.
During the run, I felt like the people I was running with were MY people, MY group. My success was their success, because we all were a part of the same thing, supporters included. A marathon is a joint effort, there is no one person better than the other because we all were out there running the same course, seeing the same signs and experiencing the same atmosphere. As strange as it sounds, I gained a newfound respect for people as a whole. I was so appreciative of everyone that came out and ran it, who was training just as long, or even longer than I had, that put all their effort and all they had into this one Sunday morning.
The Chicago Marathon is an experience that I'll hold dear forever. Not only did I accomplish my goal, and prove to myself I had it in me do to something not many people even WANT to think about (really, who in their sane mind wants to run for 4 hours straight?), but I gained a newfound respect and perspective of people just like me who are in it for the greater good, and it in to prove to themselves and others that they have what it takes. It was an incredibly emotional experience for me, I had to hold back the urge to hug everyone that finished by me because not only, was I so happy it was over, I was so excited for everyone who felt that same empowerment I did!
So congrats to everyone who OWNED the Chicago Marathon this year. Even though nobody but my professor reads this blog and now I sound like a weirdo talking to myself.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Chicago Marathon 2012
This weekend, I'll be participating in my first ever full marathon in Chicago. I've been a runner since middle school, but I've been officially training since June. The farthest I've run is two 20 mile runs and I'm getting more nervous as the day approaches. My family's coming in to visit that weekend, from Wisconsin, and we're staying Saturday and Sunday in the city. Even though I've been training, and running for over half of my life, I'm getting more and more discouraged. I initially chose to run the marathon to prove to myself I can run one, and because I'm running it for American Cancer Society. Ahh I have such mixed emotions about this weekend, but I'm excited to see how it goes and get it over with!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)