A summary of the insights I have gained from Newswriting 210

When I began this past school year I was more nervous to take Newswriting 210 than any other class. Although I am a confident writer, this class would invoke many feelings of inadequacy at times. However, as the class comes to an end and I look at the writer I have become, I can recognize many new skills I have gained that will benefit my career as a journalist, and many other aspects of my personal life. Some of the skills I have acquired include listening, editing, interpersonal and social media skills. 

 One of the most important kinds of skills a journalist will have to utilize is their listening skills. Prior to taking this course, I had a sense of pride in my listening skills that I now realize was misplaced. After completing a listening assessment at the start of the class I found that I struggled with interrupting people and accepting silence. Each interview that I completed after the assessment seemed to be better than the last, and I realized that interrupting may lead to important information getting left behind. It has also led to deeper conversations with sources, and people in my personal life, because they have the time to think about one thing at a time. Silence was something I was never comfortable with, because I always felt like the other person was just as uncomfortable as me. However, I have learned that silence is its own form of listening. Silence gives the other person space and time to think about the words and feelings they wish to express without the pressure of the next question on their mind. 

The skill of editing is essential for school, emails and any other form of writing one may do in their lifetime. Since I was a child, editing rules and skills have been challenging to learn and memorize, but through this class I have equipped myself with new techniques to make the process easier. The class discussion regarding editing tips and skills helped immensely, because I did not feel alone in my struggle and was able to apply tips from other students in situations similar to me. Every time I go to edit a paper now I utilize at least one editing trick I have learned such as walking away or categorizing the editing process. Learning about how editing can be done differently by different people allowed me to look at the process and find a way that can work for me, because I had been editing the way I thought I was supposed to edit instead of the one that actually worked for me. I will continue to improve upon and apply this skill in every piece of writing I produce in the future. 

There is a difference between being able to talk to someone versus having the skills to carry a proper conversation with them. One of the social skills I have greatly improved on since the start of this class is the ability to put myself in potentially uncomfortable situations. Talking to people I do not know used to be a terrifying thought, and it was something I would avoid at all cost. However, after the diversity study we completed, I saw it as a positive way to learn a new perspective. Although I still have anxiety sometimes, I am proud of the ways I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Without this skill, my goal of becoming a journalist would have been difficult to achieve, because it is necessary to interact with a wide variety of people who I may not have talked to otherwise. This is a skill that has improved the overall quality of my life, and as I push myself to try new experiences it will continue to allow me to learn new lessons and give me new outlooks on life. 

Another social skill I have gained is the ability to deal with rejection. Previously, rejection was something I feared, and if I felt like someone would reject me I would not even try to start a conversation. However, after many experiences of being denied, hung up on and ignored, I have gained a new sense of courage. I realized that I may never know their answer if I did not ask. Also, most of the time I found that people were willing to give an interview or let me take photos as long as I was respectful. I also learned that rejection can be uncomfortable for the person being rejected, and the person doing the rejecting. Remembering that has made it easier to not feel embarrassed by asking the question, especially if it can improve a piece of writing. There are many times in life that I will experience rejection, especially in the journalism world, and being able to adapt to the situation or take the criticism given to me will continue to advance my social and journalism skills. 

Although I am a part of the social media generation, previous to this class I rarely posted on or used social media. I thought of social media as a personal thing that I could use to share parts of my life with friends and family, but I know now that it can be utilized for so much more. In this class, we used Twitter to find sources, share our articles with the public and establish ourselves as journalists. These diverse uses for Twitter showed me the power of social media, and why many journalists choose to make a platform on other apps such as Linkedin as well. Along with the knowledge of the uses for social media, I also learned how to use it in a career-oriented way. The number of posts and their content can make the difference between one view and 100. Audience outreach is important, and social media can connect people from all the way around the world, so I will continue to improve my media skills to gain more possible stories and sources that I would not be able to  find locally. 

Hindsight can make the struggles we go through worth it, and it can open your eyes to lessons you have learned, and make them feel worth it. This class may have been a struggle for me, but the skills I have gained throughout it will be applied to every single aspect of my life. I have already made vast improvements on my listening, editing, interpersonal and social media skills that will help me achieve my goal to become a good journalist. With each passing year I hope to look back at this class and see it as a foundation to the writer I am to become.