Today, in Room C-24 at Wall High School (N.J.), Patti Martin, Staff Writer at the Asbury Park Press, was a guest speaker for my Print Journalism class. Ms. Martin, who grew up as an editor of her school newspaper in Manasquan, N.J., spoke about her experiences as a journalist, gave tips on how to become a better journalist, and gave advice to the Print Journalism students about their options for the future.
Ms. Martin explained that newspapers are slowly, but surely, becoming extinct and the world's current economic recession is only helping to decrease their livelihood. She cautioned the Print Journalism students not to major in Journalism while attending college but rather in a subject like English, and then perhaps work toward receiving a Master's Degree in Journalism afterward while attending graduate school. As print journalism continues to make its descent, blogging on soical networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter is overtaking its role to become the future dominant form of journalism.
"You need to do it [post blog entries] often to gain a readership," Ms. Martin said about blogging. She explained that, as a blogger, a journalist does not always have to post full-length stories though. "You make yourself the 'go-to' person by providing content no one has or by showing it in a different way," she described.
"Newspapers that will survive are ones providing local content," Ms. Martin further explained. With that in mind, The Crimson Courier still appears to be in good shape despite how the journalism front, as a whole, continues to dwindle in these times of economic hardships. By providing local content about Wall High School and its surrounding community activities, The Crimson Courier continues to attract buyers and subscribers for its eight issues released during the course of each school year. The students in my Print Journalism class are always working toward writing new story ideas that readers will enjoy, and the next issue is expected to be scheduled for release in mid-to-late April.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Human Relations Club Sets Up Teams
Wall High School's Human Relations Club held a meeting, Wed., Feb. 25, in Room C-16. The club only began holding meetings after the first semester of the school year ended. Yet, despite the club's tardy start, the room was swiftly crammed with students on a first-come, first-served basis, which left no empty seats for any last incoming students and caused several of them to opt for the only available and feasible choice of standing. In total, the club featured more than 30 members, calling to attention its popularity.
The members of the Human Relations Club are eager to be involved in Relay For Life, which is an event aimed at fundrasing money for the American Cancer Society and cancer patients. The event flourishes with many new and old student participants becoming involved each year. Mathematics teacher, Ms. Power, is the brand new advisor of the Human Relations Club and is more than obliged to help students feel welcomed to the club.
“There’s just raising awareness of culture, race, gender, equality -- but our main thing is Relay for Life -- that’s really a unity, togetherness thing for the cure for cancer” said Ms. Power about the Human Relations Club.
Wall High School seniors Deanna Lapp and Mary Ragan are both the presidents of the club, appearing as they did beforehand when they represented high schoolers at the Relay for Life town meeting in the Wall Township Public Library on Wed., Feb. 18. As papers detailing the circumstances of Relay for Life were passed onto students, Lapp and Ragan stood at the front of the classroom and spoke about the required duties of this year's event to inform all participants. Responsibility is a major factor involved into the planning of the event.
The students are to create teams of up to 10 dedicated members, which will be chaperoned by a Wall High School teacher or other adult that is over the age of 29. Also, the students are to pledge to raise money and awareness about cancer. Individually, students must raise $125.00 and pay $10.00 for registration and as an additional donation. Means of raising money range from selling items and soliciting donations from local businesses to canning and receiving donations from family, friends, and neighbors.
Another commitment that the Human Relations Club is invovled with is Locks of Love, which is described as "a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis," according to http://www.locksoflove.org.
"[Locks of Love involves] donating your hair for cancer kids -- it’s not just an HRC [Human Relations Club] thing -- but we have quite a few [members] participating," Ms. Power described in her own terms.
The Human Relations Club remains open all the time. “We would never turn somebody away," Ms. Power stated. However, if a student is interested in being involved in Relay for Life, he or she must become a member of a team soon. For the next Human Relations Club meeting, students are required to have saved a word document file of a typed list of each team's members under the HRC [Human Relations Club] folder on the shared drive. Students are also required to have paid and registered on the Wall High School team list on the Relay website, http://www.relayforlife.org/wallnj. So, if any student wants to become involved in this event, he or she is advised to make a quick decision before it's too late.
The members of the Human Relations Club are eager to be involved in Relay For Life, which is an event aimed at fundrasing money for the American Cancer Society and cancer patients. The event flourishes with many new and old student participants becoming involved each year. Mathematics teacher, Ms. Power, is the brand new advisor of the Human Relations Club and is more than obliged to help students feel welcomed to the club.
“There’s just raising awareness of culture, race, gender, equality -- but our main thing is Relay for Life -- that’s really a unity, togetherness thing for the cure for cancer” said Ms. Power about the Human Relations Club.
Wall High School seniors Deanna Lapp and Mary Ragan are both the presidents of the club, appearing as they did beforehand when they represented high schoolers at the Relay for Life town meeting in the Wall Township Public Library on Wed., Feb. 18. As papers detailing the circumstances of Relay for Life were passed onto students, Lapp and Ragan stood at the front of the classroom and spoke about the required duties of this year's event to inform all participants. Responsibility is a major factor involved into the planning of the event.
The students are to create teams of up to 10 dedicated members, which will be chaperoned by a Wall High School teacher or other adult that is over the age of 29. Also, the students are to pledge to raise money and awareness about cancer. Individually, students must raise $125.00 and pay $10.00 for registration and as an additional donation. Means of raising money range from selling items and soliciting donations from local businesses to canning and receiving donations from family, friends, and neighbors.
Another commitment that the Human Relations Club is invovled with is Locks of Love, which is described as "a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis," according to http://www.locksoflove.org.
"[Locks of Love involves] donating your hair for cancer kids -- it’s not just an HRC [Human Relations Club] thing -- but we have quite a few [members] participating," Ms. Power described in her own terms.
The Human Relations Club remains open all the time. “We would never turn somebody away," Ms. Power stated. However, if a student is interested in being involved in Relay for Life, he or she must become a member of a team soon. For the next Human Relations Club meeting, students are required to have saved a word document file of a typed list of each team's members under the HRC [Human Relations Club] folder on the shared drive. Students are also required to have paid and registered on the Wall High School team list on the Relay website, http://www.relayforlife.org/wallnj. So, if any student wants to become involved in this event, he or she is advised to make a quick decision before it's too late.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Computer Club is Sluggish for the Day
At the end of another completed school day in Wall High School, today, the Computer Club held a meeting in Room A-10. Mrs. Parsons, a Technology Department teacher, patiently waited for her students to arrive while having a conversation with Mrs. Badecker, a Business teacher, to fill in the time void. One student appeared and took a moment to examine the room, then stepped outside into the hallway to use his cellphone. He returned only to explain to Mrs. Parsons that he has no means of transportation for going back home if he were to stay for the meeting, so he must leave pronto. After he had left, the computer lab returned to its original state and became devoid of any club members, once again.
Such occurrences are the normal routine for several after-school activities, and the Computer Club is no exception. In actuality, the Computer Club is probably more prone to such tendencies. The club, being small in size, only comprises of four members. The quartet meets together only twice a month. Although diminutive, the club provides a window of opportunity for its members, who demonstrate their enthusiasm toward the functioning of 21st Century technology.
“We discuss new technologies like operating systems, gadgets [and] work on websites,” Mrs. Parsons explained. Students often research some type of technology to increase their knowledge in what may become a future field of study for them. “Essentially anything they want to do with technology -- this is their time,” she said about the club members.
Following in the same trend that the majority of school clubs share, the Computer Club is always open to accepting new members at any time during the school year. Any student that is interested in technology should be encouraged to keep his or her options open and be susceptible to feeling an inclination toward joining the club.
Such occurrences are the normal routine for several after-school activities, and the Computer Club is no exception. In actuality, the Computer Club is probably more prone to such tendencies. The club, being small in size, only comprises of four members. The quartet meets together only twice a month. Although diminutive, the club provides a window of opportunity for its members, who demonstrate their enthusiasm toward the functioning of 21st Century technology.
“We discuss new technologies like operating systems, gadgets [and] work on websites,” Mrs. Parsons explained. Students often research some type of technology to increase their knowledge in what may become a future field of study for them. “Essentially anything they want to do with technology -- this is their time,” she said about the club members.
Following in the same trend that the majority of school clubs share, the Computer Club is always open to accepting new members at any time during the school year. Any student that is interested in technology should be encouraged to keep his or her options open and be susceptible to feeling an inclination toward joining the club.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Relay for Life Resurfaces Once Again
I've recently received an event invitation on Facebook. The event is a kickoff party for Relay for Life -- a fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. I personally can't say that I'm really familiar with this event, but I guess that it may be worth checking out. Maybe -- just maybe -- I will be able to attend the event and write another article. Apparently, it's headed by Wall High School senior Deanna Lapp and, if you want to attend, you have to contact her and let her know that you will be present and want to sign up. Below is descriptive information which I copied from my invitation and pasted here:
Relay for Life: Kickoff Party! Come join our tribe!
Date: Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location: Wall Community Center (Next to the Library)
Only a few days left until Kickoff! To RSVP call 1-800-ACS-2345. Get prepared for our Kickoff Party! Mark your calendars for Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Join us in the Library next to the Wall Community Center to find out how you can be a part of 25 years of Hope! It's really important to get as many people (especially Team Capts.) out to this meeting! Let's make this year even better than the last!
Relay for Life: Kickoff Party! Come join our tribe!
Date: Wed., Feb. 18, 2009
Time: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location: Wall Community Center (Next to the Library)
Only a few days left until Kickoff! To RSVP call 1-800-ACS-2345. Get prepared for our Kickoff Party! Mark your calendars for Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Join us in the Library next to the Wall Community Center to find out how you can be a part of 25 years of Hope! It's really important to get as many people (especially Team Capts.) out to this meeting! Let's make this year even better than the last!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Much Needed Blog Update
Happy Valentine's Day!
I want to apologize for the lack of recent posts on my blog. I know that I haven't been a very good blogger this past week. In my defense, though, school has not been in session since Fri., Feb. 6. Evidently, my "beat" centers itself around school clubs and organizations, which have not been holding new meetings due to the current break that Wall Township public schools are on. Therefore, due to the circumstances, it was really just out of my hands to write a new blog entry for the past few days. I think that I now am beginning to understand the difficulty that Marissa Block endured for her blog last year, which other students and Mr. Ketelaar described to me, since she had a "beat" similar to mine.
I did not forget about my blog and kept it mind while I was going about my activities on break. It was just difficult for me to access and use a computer to log into my blog account and compose a new entry because I've been busy during this break. Not to mention, is the fact that my family keeps interrupting me when I want to have some time to be alone and concentrate on my work.
Anyway, I went to another Teen Action Group (TAG) meeting on Sun., Feb. 8. I already have written an article on TAG, so I thought it would be too soon to write another article on the organization. I also went to Montclair State University on Wed., Feb. 11, to visit a friend for a few days. I thought about writing an article comparing and contrasting the extracurricular activities of both Wall High School and Montclair State University, but that plan never quite came through. Basically, Montclair State University boasts more activities than Wall High School could ever muster is all I can say for now, being that it is much larger in size than our high school. My experience at Montclair State University was quite fun and enjoyable.
I want to apologize for the lack of recent posts on my blog. I know that I haven't been a very good blogger this past week. In my defense, though, school has not been in session since Fri., Feb. 6. Evidently, my "beat" centers itself around school clubs and organizations, which have not been holding new meetings due to the current break that Wall Township public schools are on. Therefore, due to the circumstances, it was really just out of my hands to write a new blog entry for the past few days. I think that I now am beginning to understand the difficulty that Marissa Block endured for her blog last year, which other students and Mr. Ketelaar described to me, since she had a "beat" similar to mine.
I did not forget about my blog and kept it mind while I was going about my activities on break. It was just difficult for me to access and use a computer to log into my blog account and compose a new entry because I've been busy during this break. Not to mention, is the fact that my family keeps interrupting me when I want to have some time to be alone and concentrate on my work.
Anyway, I went to another Teen Action Group (TAG) meeting on Sun., Feb. 8. I already have written an article on TAG, so I thought it would be too soon to write another article on the organization. I also went to Montclair State University on Wed., Feb. 11, to visit a friend for a few days. I thought about writing an article comparing and contrasting the extracurricular activities of both Wall High School and Montclair State University, but that plan never quite came through. Basically, Montclair State University boasts more activities than Wall High School could ever muster is all I can say for now, being that it is much larger in size than our high school. My experience at Montclair State University was quite fun and enjoyable.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Potential Teen Issue Feature
This may not be related to my "beat," per se, but it is a homework assignment for my Print Journalism I class, after all. The assignment is to select a teen issue for feature writing. I'm choosing to write about bullying, as overdone as that may already appear. I, however, still think that it's an important issue that most teens will probably have to face and deal with at least once in their lifetimes. I'm sure that there are plenty of personal stories concerning this issue that I can draw from when writing my feature which can enhance the issue's significance and highlight its potential harmful effects to the readers.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Meetings Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather
I orignally wanted to post another article today, but recent inclement weather has caused school club and organization meetings to be cancelled for the past two days. I can understand that since the snow began to fall from the sky, yesterday, all after-school activities had to be dismissed so that students and faculty alike could leave the building and head back home as soon and safely as possible. Snowfall continued into the night and accumulated on the ground, resulting in all Wall Township public schools to run on a two-hour delay this morning. I really cannot fathom why school club and organization meetings had to be cancelled again today, since the weather had already cleared up hours before all scheduled classes ended. I was planning on staying after school to attend a meeting for either the Human Relations Club or the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), but both were cancelled. Perhaps, other school clubs and organizations had meetings today which I am unaware of and totally oblivious to, but I didn't hear about any scheduled meetings over the intercom.
Anyway, I will see if I can try to post one more article by Fri., Feb. 6, although I can make no guarantee. What I can promise is to keep on the lookout for news during the upcoming weeks. I believe that I can muster a couple more articles to be written before the month of February ends, even if they may not be used for the school newspaper, The Crimson Courier.
Anyway, I will see if I can try to post one more article by Fri., Feb. 6, although I can make no guarantee. What I can promise is to keep on the lookout for news during the upcoming weeks. I believe that I can muster a couple more articles to be written before the month of February ends, even if they may not be used for the school newspaper, The Crimson Courier.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
TAG Continues to Hold Successful Meetings
Okay, so this may not be specifically related to Wall High School activities, but it is related to an organization that involves several Wall High School students (including myself).
On Sun., Feb. 1, the St. Rose Teen Action Group’s (TAG) members gathered to watch Super Bowl XLIII on a flat, wide, plasma-screen TV in their Parish Center located in Belmar, N.J. As time progressed closer to the airing of the event, the students' anticipation toward watching the National Football League's (NFL) highest-rated game of the year was building to monumental proportions, but only to be unduly greeted to no avail as their hopes were crushed by technical difficulties that had suddenly arisen. The problem caused the members to relocate to a smaller room and watch the Super Bowl on a TV that had a screen which was no larger than seven-by-seven inches. This, however, was not news to the members of TAG though, who had experienced the same exact situation during a previous year.
TAG is an organization dedicated to Christian teens who want to help their community through various charity services. It was formed about six years ago by Jersey Shore resident Jean Riley, who was the former leader of the group. “I worked for a year with Jean Riley,” said Maryann Trez, current leader of TAG. Trez, a citizen of Wall since 1994, heads the group while locals Joann Fossani and Brandon Marone assist her.
“It [TAG] was formed for public school high school parishioners who don’t have CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) anymore [and] who have made their Confirmation,” explained Trez. “But now it also includes people who attend St. Rose [High School, N.J.].”
TAG is involved in the catering of numerous community service projects and charities ranging from cooking and serving food to the poor of Ocean Grove, N.J., to raising over $4,000.00 for the construction of community centers and the importing of necessary supplies for survival to the Ugandan countryside. The organization also holds many holiday-oriented events, including the creation of a haunted house for Halloween and carolling to an audience for Christmas.
“I think TAG is a great place to be yourself and to get to know other people and to experience and share faith together,” said Wall High School senior Mary Ragan. When asked if students should be encouraged to join TAG, she agreed wholeheartedly. “Definitely,” she said, “but you have to make sure you come in with an open mind.”
TAG usually holds meetings every Sunday after the 5 p.m. mass service at St. Rose Church, unless otherwise stated by group leader Trez. Meetings generally last for two hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. New members are always welcome to join anytime!
On Sun., Feb. 1, the St. Rose Teen Action Group’s (TAG) members gathered to watch Super Bowl XLIII on a flat, wide, plasma-screen TV in their Parish Center located in Belmar, N.J. As time progressed closer to the airing of the event, the students' anticipation toward watching the National Football League's (NFL) highest-rated game of the year was building to monumental proportions, but only to be unduly greeted to no avail as their hopes were crushed by technical difficulties that had suddenly arisen. The problem caused the members to relocate to a smaller room and watch the Super Bowl on a TV that had a screen which was no larger than seven-by-seven inches. This, however, was not news to the members of TAG though, who had experienced the same exact situation during a previous year.
TAG is an organization dedicated to Christian teens who want to help their community through various charity services. It was formed about six years ago by Jersey Shore resident Jean Riley, who was the former leader of the group. “I worked for a year with Jean Riley,” said Maryann Trez, current leader of TAG. Trez, a citizen of Wall since 1994, heads the group while locals Joann Fossani and Brandon Marone assist her.
“It [TAG] was formed for public school high school parishioners who don’t have CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) anymore [and] who have made their Confirmation,” explained Trez. “But now it also includes people who attend St. Rose [High School, N.J.].”
TAG is involved in the catering of numerous community service projects and charities ranging from cooking and serving food to the poor of Ocean Grove, N.J., to raising over $4,000.00 for the construction of community centers and the importing of necessary supplies for survival to the Ugandan countryside. The organization also holds many holiday-oriented events, including the creation of a haunted house for Halloween and carolling to an audience for Christmas.
“I think TAG is a great place to be yourself and to get to know other people and to experience and share faith together,” said Wall High School senior Mary Ragan. When asked if students should be encouraged to join TAG, she agreed wholeheartedly. “Definitely,” she said, “but you have to make sure you come in with an open mind.”
TAG usually holds meetings every Sunday after the 5 p.m. mass service at St. Rose Church, unless otherwise stated by group leader Trez. Meetings generally last for two hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. New members are always welcome to join anytime!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Introduction
Hello,
Welcome to my blog! This is my very first post, which I will use to introduce myself and the purpose of this blog. The blog was created under the instruction of Mr. Ketelaar for his third period class, Print Journalism I, at Wall High School (N.J.). Each student in the class was assigned to come up with his or her own "beat," that is -- his or her own area or expertise, to cover and report for the school newspaper, The Crimson Courier. I believe that my "beat" is technically targeted toward school clubs and organizations. However, I think it can be argued that other activities, such as educational procedures and school-sponsored events, can be lumped together under my "beat." Hence, I use the word “activities” to encompass a broader range of topics to write about that occur within the walls of the school and its outside community (curricular, extracurricular, related, semi-related, or otherwise). Anyway, I am one of those students in Print Journalism I and, on this blog, I plan to follow up on school-related news and write ideas and stories that could possibly go through some revision and eventually be published onto the crinkly, black ink-covered pages of The Crimson Courier itself.
I was initially surprised by Mr. Ketelaar’s lesson plans this week for setting up our own blogs (in a similar way to the first time he made us do a drill without a day's notice). I thought that our "beat" proposals were supposed to be more generally targeted toward school news. So, in my proposal, I just wrote how I was qualified to report on school news related to clubs, organizations, and the whole nine yards (I know, I know... cliché = bad *sigh*). I honestly thought that our "beats" had to be specifically targeted toward school-related news since we are supposed to write for the school newspaper, after all, aren't we? It was to my astonishment that we were going to set up blogs where we are supposed to cover news on a weekly basis. Several of the students chose a certain area of entertainment for their "beats," which were mostly associated with music, I believe (but I could be wrong with my assumptions). Oh, how I envied them. Here I was, self-assigned a "beat" that I felt I was not thoroughly interested in, while they were granted their fullest wishes and hearts' desires. While they have the chance to just sit at the computer when at home and surf the net to find news and information about their favorite celebrities and artists, I have to do the dirty work by actually attending meetings after school and retrieve quotes directly from their participants' own mouths. I was angry with myself for not pushing toward something more exhilarating and exciting in my "beat" proposal but, oh well, what could I do at that point? The decision was made and I had to deal with it. Sure, the glamour and glitz of my fellow peers' "beats" seemed appealing, but I had to make due with what I had. I accepted my decision and began to ponder about ideas to write for my blog. Then, it dawned on me that I may have something that they don't have. I realized that I may potentially have a secret weapon against them. Muhahahaha!
The truth is that I am no stranger to the art of blogging. Yes, what I am saying is that I actually do already own another blog. I actually have had it for a few years now. I created my first blog in July of 2005 and used it to post entries fairly often for quite a while, especially when I was a freshman. Now, it just remains as a ghost site floating on the vastly desolated fringes of cyberspace. Currently, I only visit the blog for purposes of reminiscence and to find a new post there is indeed a rare sight. While looking at last year's Print Journalism I student blogs, I noticed that many of the students indicated that they never previously owned a blog before. This leads me to believe the same is true for this year's Print Journalism I students. What I have that they may not necessarily have is experience, a very important and vital tool. While searching through my older blog's archives, I discovered some interesting statistics. Lo and behold!
So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I have been somewhat "enlightened" as of recent times. Knowing that I wrote some pretty awesome blog entries just for fun in my leisure time when I was about 15 years old, gives me the confidence and mindset that I can do it once again for school-related news purposes. My mind has been filled to its fullest capacity with over-flowing ideas for possible news stories to write about over the course of the next few months. I actually have formed a few ideas that can be covered within the next few days before February Break and, yes, they include a story concerning this year's Super Bowl and its festivities. Honestly, there are myriad possibilities to write about. I'm actually glad that I chose my specific "beat" concerning school activities and think that covering the stories may be even -- dare I say it? -- fun! I am looking forward to actually posting some stories in the distant future but, just to let readers know, none of them will be nearly as subjective as this piece of writing before your eyes (nor as long in length). This is just my introductory piece and now I will move on to covering some stories. I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe year!
Welcome to my blog! This is my very first post, which I will use to introduce myself and the purpose of this blog. The blog was created under the instruction of Mr. Ketelaar for his third period class, Print Journalism I, at Wall High School (N.J.). Each student in the class was assigned to come up with his or her own "beat," that is -- his or her own area or expertise, to cover and report for the school newspaper, The Crimson Courier. I believe that my "beat" is technically targeted toward school clubs and organizations. However, I think it can be argued that other activities, such as educational procedures and school-sponsored events, can be lumped together under my "beat." Hence, I use the word “activities” to encompass a broader range of topics to write about that occur within the walls of the school and its outside community (curricular, extracurricular, related, semi-related, or otherwise). Anyway, I am one of those students in Print Journalism I and, on this blog, I plan to follow up on school-related news and write ideas and stories that could possibly go through some revision and eventually be published onto the crinkly, black ink-covered pages of The Crimson Courier itself.
I was initially surprised by Mr. Ketelaar’s lesson plans this week for setting up our own blogs (in a similar way to the first time he made us do a drill without a day's notice). I thought that our "beat" proposals were supposed to be more generally targeted toward school news. So, in my proposal, I just wrote how I was qualified to report on school news related to clubs, organizations, and the whole nine yards (I know, I know... cliché = bad *sigh*). I honestly thought that our "beats" had to be specifically targeted toward school-related news since we are supposed to write for the school newspaper, after all, aren't we? It was to my astonishment that we were going to set up blogs where we are supposed to cover news on a weekly basis. Several of the students chose a certain area of entertainment for their "beats," which were mostly associated with music, I believe (but I could be wrong with my assumptions). Oh, how I envied them. Here I was, self-assigned a "beat" that I felt I was not thoroughly interested in, while they were granted their fullest wishes and hearts' desires. While they have the chance to just sit at the computer when at home and surf the net to find news and information about their favorite celebrities and artists, I have to do the dirty work by actually attending meetings after school and retrieve quotes directly from their participants' own mouths. I was angry with myself for not pushing toward something more exhilarating and exciting in my "beat" proposal but, oh well, what could I do at that point? The decision was made and I had to deal with it. Sure, the glamour and glitz of my fellow peers' "beats" seemed appealing, but I had to make due with what I had. I accepted my decision and began to ponder about ideas to write for my blog. Then, it dawned on me that I may have something that they don't have. I realized that I may potentially have a secret weapon against them. Muhahahaha!
The truth is that I am no stranger to the art of blogging. Yes, what I am saying is that I actually do already own another blog. I actually have had it for a few years now. I created my first blog in July of 2005 and used it to post entries fairly often for quite a while, especially when I was a freshman. Now, it just remains as a ghost site floating on the vastly desolated fringes of cyberspace. Currently, I only visit the blog for purposes of reminiscence and to find a new post there is indeed a rare sight. While looking at last year's Print Journalism I student blogs, I noticed that many of the students indicated that they never previously owned a blog before. This leads me to believe the same is true for this year's Print Journalism I students. What I have that they may not necessarily have is experience, a very important and vital tool. While searching through my older blog's archives, I discovered some interesting statistics. Lo and behold!
- 55 entries in 2005 (from July to December)
- 35 entries in 2006
- One entry in 2007
- Four entries in 2008
By the time my blog reached its one-year anniversary, I had posted a total of 90 blog entries. If each blog entry was posted on its own separate and individual day, that means I posted blog entries for nearly a quarter of the whole year! The second-year anniversary tally is far less impressive for the simple fact that, oh… I don’t know, I did not even post a single thing whatsoever! It’s strange to see how I went from posting 90 blog entries per year to zero, but that is only to attest to my waning interest in the blog itself over time. Meanwhile, the third-year anniversary tallies a total of four blog entries. For the upcoming four-year anniversary, I only have one blog entry thus far, which was posted on Sat., Nov. 15, 2008.
My passion and dedication to my blog during my freshman year now astounds me. I hope that I'm not giving off the impression to others that I'm conceited or anything, but I'm impressed with my writings from back then. I feel that I have lost some of that spark of creativity I possessed and wish to retain it to its fullest potential. People have always complemented me on my writing throughout all my years living on this Earth, but I always felt the need to be modest and not take any praise from others to heart. In fact, my Sixth Grade Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Lackett, suggested that I should join the newspaper while I was attending Wall Intermediate School. Now, why didn't I listen to her and take her advice? I did recently receive a 100 on the essay portion of my English 12 Honors mid-term exam, after all. I possess an ability to write pretty well and you could maybe even say it is a talent. Why did I wait until I became a senior in high school to even join a Journalism class? God only knows, but now is the time to fix and make up for all that I missed out on.So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I have been somewhat "enlightened" as of recent times. Knowing that I wrote some pretty awesome blog entries just for fun in my leisure time when I was about 15 years old, gives me the confidence and mindset that I can do it once again for school-related news purposes. My mind has been filled to its fullest capacity with over-flowing ideas for possible news stories to write about over the course of the next few months. I actually have formed a few ideas that can be covered within the next few days before February Break and, yes, they include a story concerning this year's Super Bowl and its festivities. Honestly, there are myriad possibilities to write about. I'm actually glad that I chose my specific "beat" concerning school activities and think that covering the stories may be even -- dare I say it? -- fun! I am looking forward to actually posting some stories in the distant future but, just to let readers know, none of them will be nearly as subjective as this piece of writing before your eyes (nor as long in length). This is just my introductory piece and now I will move on to covering some stories. I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe year!
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