Behind Closed Doors

Well, I came to realize that in a school with more than 22,000 students plus faculty and staff, students outside of the Media Arts Department do not have an understanding of what goes on behind the closed doors of the newsroom.

First, I want to reiterate a very important fact that an advisor to the Roundup continuously points out to staff members at Pierce College. The paper is 100 percent student-run. This means that the stories and photographs are chosen by student editors and the professors/advisors have no editing rights until after the issue comes to print.

So...

Social Media, Social Networking, Social Butterfly

It is not very often that students have the opportunity to meet and speak with one of Time's most influential people. Arianna Huffington is someone to admire and be inspired by. She is a person who exudes intelligence, humor, and sincerity.

I was fortunate enough to see her speak at the Valley Performing Art Center at CSUN this past weekend. Talk about inspirational and motivational...

Teachers, Mentors, Friends

What matters?

We think of life as being this long road or journey. The truth of the matter is, life is pretty short for us. We live to be 60...70...80...90...and for some, more than 100. But in relation to how long human kind has been in existence, our life span is very short.

How do you make your life count? How do you choose which path to go down? What legacy are you going to leave behind?

For me, a big part of who I am is those who have helped me along my way. Although my family means everything to me and everyone in my family has been my biggest support, this post goes out to some memorable, mentionable and extraordinary human beings.

1. Dr. Richard Follett
My English professor for two semesters and confidant. He is both remarkable and kind, bright and wise, charming and brilliant.  My life has changed since I have met him. I write because of him. I want my Ph.D. in education so I can teach and share the knowledge I have gained with the hopes of inspiring at least one other person.

2. Professor Stefanie Frith
It's not every day that you find yourself in a classroom with a teacher so excited to be there that they want their students to visit. Yes, visit. Stefanie is the type of professor who encourages her students to stop by her office just to talk. She is interested. With a young teacher who is motivated and always has a spring in her step, it's hard not to want to succeed.

3. Michal Marks
Since I was 12 years old, Michal has been in my life. Truth, honesty, charisma and intelligence are only a few of the many words that come to mind when I think of her. She pushes her students and friends to raise the bar, shoot for the moon and has no doubt in her mind that any of her pupils will fall short of their dreams.

Teachers are underrated, underpaid and overlooked. Make every day count and never be afraid or modest to use the words love and thanks. Saying I love you and thank you are never overrated.

Who are you grateful for? Who inspires you?


NEW UPDATE: An acronym...

Better to Love...

And so the saying goes, "it is better to have loved then to never have loved at all."

He is 19 years old, recently heartbroken, but still very much in love. Here is the kicker, his ex-girlfriend was my best friend and 'he' is my younger brother. Let me explain...

Since the first day of 8th grade, A and I have been joint at the hip. We stood by each other all through high school and maintained a close relationship while I was 10,000 miles away in Israel for one year. When I came back home, we went out clubbing together, had sushi dates, etc. We were always there for each other.

Traveling back in time again, for my 15th birthday my parents took me to Mexico. It was my family and A. It was fun! The weather was beautiful and there is nothing like making memories with a friend, especially when you are abroad!

The day my family and I came home, my brother (the one who is currently 19 was 13) told me that he had a secret and I couldn't tell anyone. The secret was that A and he had kissed. They waited until I was asleep and hooked up behind my back.

Fine. I let it go. Fast forward to a year ago. I have been home for a few months and A and I are back to our nights out and sleepovers. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and she wasn't next to me. Early the next morning, she comes walking back into my bed in my brothers t-shirt.

She had slept with my brother. Next thing I know I...

A Mother-Daughter Kind of Thang

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Before I get to the news that made my day/week/year/life let me give you some context.  For those of you who are my new followers and for those of you who don't know me too well, writing used to be a terrifying assignment for me. I was never taught how to write well. Year after year my teachers taught the same thing.

Object. Subject. Verb.

No one taught me how to write in a structure that would help all my thoughts be focused. My parents and teachers all said the same thing to me. "You have great ideas, but your paper is very scattered."

Fast forward to yesterday. My mom is going back to school to earn her Ph.D. She had a midterm paper due today for a Freud class she is taking. This is the email I received yesterday:


Hi! 

I finally finished my midterm and thought you might be willing to give it a look and let me know if there's anymore editing I should do. It's supposed to be 3-5 pages and highlight some of the ideas we've touched on this quarter in Freud with our case material. It is supposed to show that we understand the concepts we are learning about. 

I'd love your feedback before I print it tonight, otherwise, we can talk about it another time, and I'll print it anyways. I don't think I can look at it anymore (I'm smiling).

I love you,

Briar

OKAY! First, she signed it Briar. That's her name but to me she is Mommy. That made me laugh. Anyways, the real miracle here is that she came to me for help. After I was done editing her paper we spoke on the phone. When we were done she said she was "grateful for my editorial mind."

Life really doesn't get any better for a mother-daughter relationship when your mom turns to you for help when in the past it was the biggest hurdle for the both of us; Me with writing the assignment and her staying up past midnight to help me edit it (a.k.a. redoing the paper).

That's all for now folks!

A Job Well Done

Firstly, let me say Happy New Year. It's been some time since my last post but I'm back. The title of this post will slowly be explained as you read along.

If I have learned anything from my parents, teachers, friends and life itself it's that acknowledgments are important, if not vital. Why do I say this to you? Sometimes people get lost in their world of what perfection should like. Whether it's living in an older siblings shadow or a parents life-long dream for you, it can become difficult to appreciate the baby steps.

As you know, if you have read my whole blog and kept up with me, I struggled immensely in elementary school, middle school and high school. It wasn't until college where my grades significantly shifted and I understood the importance of education and the benefits of working hard.

I was brought up and taught that it wasn't always about the grade but about my effort. Still, when my brother was bringing home straight A's without any effort, it was hard for me to accept that I was smart. I now write to you, my loyal readers, as my fall grades are officially in. With 5 A's and one B, I sit before my computer as a 3.8-GPA student.

Although I'm struggling to find my next step in life, right now I know it's okay to just bask in the glory of a job well done. Whether I chose law school, an internship for six months in New York City or earn an incredible job as an editor/writer, life will work itself out and I will be okay.

This post is for those of you who have struggled, are currently struggling and those who want to make someone else's life easier. I commend you on not giving up and wish you the best in your endeavors.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I challenge you to click on the link below and watch the video. See where it takes you and never forget that your life is not over and your future is as bright and wonderful as you say it is.

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/introduction_to_the_landmark_forum_video.jsp 

          

Judaism, Philosophy, Communications and Journalism

My majors!

Since coming home I have changed my mind several times. However, I have chosen a journalism major and I have yet to change my mind since last year. I struggled to find my way to this point and my journey was anything but easy.

In second grade, I was diagnosed with a learning disorder, a form of dyslexia is what the doctors said. I process information slower than others and it becomes mashed up in my head. For example, with standardized tests I will read my options, A, B, C and D. When I process my options, my brain says C, A, D and B. As you can see and probably have already assumed, testing was never and will never be my strong suit. It is so unfortunate for people like me to take tests such as the SAT, ACT, ERB, CAHSEE, etc and be graded as that result.

That's one part of the story. The second, and perhaps most difficult aspect I had to struggle with was my writing style and technique. All my life I have been told that I had great ideas and thoughts but that I was very unorganized in my writing. I slowly began to give up my love for storytelling because I had made meaning out of being a bad organizer. I made it mean that I couldn't be fixed or changed and so there is no point in trying. Plus the endless hours of staying up late in middle school with my mom correcting essays didn't help. No one ever encouraged me to learn to write properly until Dr. Richard Follett, my English professor.

I took his English 28 course which re-teaches students the basics of a proper writing format. I remember my first assignment. I had finished typing up my final draft and my first thought was to email it to my mom to look over and edit. For the first time in my life I stood up against my scared self and didn't do it. I turned it right into Dr. Follett. The next week I received an A on the assignment. In fact, the lowest grade I received in his class was an A-.

The momentum didn't stop there. The following semester I enrolled in a Journalism 100 and a Journalism 101 course to fulfill the requirements for my undergraduate units for communications major. Those classes opened up a whole new world to me. It was better than Jasmine's carpet ride. I was able to write and rewrite stories, grasp history in a media perspective and even was published, twice. My professors saw something in me that Dr. Follett saw in me the semester before. I was being seen as more than a student. They saw me as a writer. I went on to finish the semester earning a first place award for one of my published articles. I was honored, and I still am.

By the end of February 2009 (only one month into that semester) I was a journalism major.

Fast forward to August 2009.

I had one more week left of my summer break when I received an email from the Editor-in-Chief to be at my school's newspaper. He had contacted to me to ask if I wanted to be the future Feature's Editor. I was hesitant and nervous. My palms had already begin to sweat, my stomach was in knots and my head was pounding. What if I failed? What if my pages were blank by the time we go to print? What if I can't find a good story? Will I be any good? Despite it all, I said yes.

The semester flew by and I did it. At our end of the semester banquet I received two first place awards, two second place awards and an honorable mention for my writing and page designs.

So what's next? I ran for Editor-in-Chief for the spring semester and lost. I was up against a reporter and the current EIC. The reporter won. I was saddened and hurt. I felt as though I had worked hard and that my efforts went unnoticed. It turns out that my outside life was too busy and the panel thought I was better suited to be Managing Editor.

Not bad, eh? So you are reading the current Managing Editor's blog! I am excited. We have a great team in tow and it's going to be an interesting and exciting adventure.

And just so you all know-- my life doesn't revolve around the newsroom, although that sounds amazing! I nanny part time, I am in a committed full-time relationship and always make room my friends and family.

Good night!

4-Month Pit Stop

Let's see...

Right, we left off with a brief, yet memorable overview of my year abroad.

June 3, 2008 was a sad day. I boarded the El Al flight that took me home. Yes, I was happy to see my parents and have my big bed back yet, for the first time in my life I had been on my own and survived. Granted there were supervisors in every city I lived in to check in with all of us Young Judaean's,  I still had to learn to create a home and a family every time I moved.

I was only home for a brief period of time. In August I packed my bags yet again and flew out to Maryland with my mom and dad. They were going to move me into my new dorm at McDaniel College. I had been accepted there prior to Year Course and thought it was going to be my new home. The moment we landed in Baltimore I knew I had made a mistake-- a big mistake costing more than $25 thousand. Well, after the silent treatment, a water works show and some yelling matches I thought I knew that I was going to make myself suffer one semester and leave.

Turns out that I can't hold a grudge for too long. I did leave after that fall semester, but I took away some valuable friendships I cherish to this day. In fact, although I knew McDaniel wasn't right for me, saying good bye to my friends was more painful than I had imagined. (And a side note to boost my self-confidence, I left McDaniel with a 3.8 GPA!)

What's more? The people who really kept me strong (aside from my dad) were two of my best friends...

That will be important later, so don't forget!

  -----> For those of you who want to check out the type of college McDaniel is! It caters really well to each individual student. Just wasn't where I wanted my home to be.

The Beginning

What is this blog about and why is it important? Who is going to want to read this and who will it affect?

What's Next? has been created for several reasons. On a selfish note, it's so I can maintain my sanity. By writing, I can freely express myself without any interruptions. On a sharing note, I hope my struggles, obstacles and discoveries can serve as an inspiration to any and every one.

To start, perhaps an introduction and a little background on who I am would be preferable. I am 21 years old and a student earning a degree in journalism. I have been a reporter and an editor on my school's paper and will be next semesters Managing Editor. I love writing. It's a way to be fully self-expressed and unstoppable without judgement.

I won't start at the beginning of my life. Not only would that not be interesting to you, I can't possibly remember it all. Instead, I'll start in August of 2007. I am packing up my clothes, toiletries, a journal and my camera. I am getting ready to start my first year of college...in Israel.

Young Judaea Year Course was the name of the program. I have been a Young Judaean since I was nine and since my dad had participated in all YJ events, I knew that Year Course was a must. That year was probably one of the best years I have ever experienced. The year was broken into trimesters; three months in Akko, three in Holon and three in Jerusalem.

There were 18 of us in all in Akko. We were a part of a Navy boarding school where we became basic licensed sailors. We had classes in knot tying, Hebrew, ninjutsu and ships. It wan an intensive crash course and it was incredible.

In Holon, I volunteered at a magnet arts school where I taught children in 2nd to 7th grade. It forced me to pick up Hebrew quickly in order to better communicate with the children. My primary job was to improve the students vocabulary and spelling. Thus, "ish ta'a'luey" or Hangman, became the game of choice where I would pick song lyrics the students knew that contained that weeks vocabulary words.

Jerusalem was my final destination. There, I studied-- 22 units to be exact where I also received a 3.9 GPA on my completion certificate. I took courses about the Holocaust, minorities in Israel, Hebrew, Art and Judaism and Kabbalah.

Granted the experience was educational and rewarding, there was a fun aspect. I was 18, meaning that I was the legal age to drink and the night life in Tel Aviv never died down. I drank regularly, danced with friends and had dozens of hook-ups (and that does not mean sex). It was great. Being in Israel was the epitome of what I thought college should be like: dating tons of guys, partying and being with friends. Well, that isn't necessarily wrong but it is'nt the truth.

Anyways, that's where we will start on you having a better idea of where I am coming from and me becoming closer to figuring out What's Next?