Sturdy as Steel
A great journalism professor once said 4804 is like making steel.
You heat up the iron. Beat it. Heat it up. Beat it. And that's just one cycle. You do that six times, for six stories.
The heat is the build up. Its the pain of entering the pitching process after having no time to cool down. You stay hot, anticipatory and eventually, you crave it.
The beatings come blow by blow. You never know exactly when they're coming, but it usually correlates to how much effort you put in during the previous days. The less you push in days prior, the harder the beatings get. They don't stop until you are worked to the bone.
Sometimes it takes those blows to make you strong enough to keep you going.
By story six, I knew full well what the expectations were and I was determined to end my 4804 career as heated as ever. So I went big: sex trafficking.
I was thrilled when the idea passed and come pitch day, we didn't get even get through a few minutes before they stopped us. Our professors turn to the class and say its one of the best pitches in years.
Hearing that statement and the magnitude that came with it almost brought me to tears. It said so much at once about how far we'd come and how far we were going in just a few words.
We didn't stop there. My took this heightened expectation and ran with it. We cranked out interviews, narrowed our information and gave a voice to the story. We did it justice, at least I hope.
In the end, that wise professor was right. We have all become steel or at least have a coating of it.
We're tougher, more enduring, but most importantly, their expectations have been deeply rooted in us. We will always have a high standard for ourselves, even if those around us don't. We know how to take the blows, keep going and make something beautiful.
In no way are we stainless steel. We still have flaws without a doubt. But we are lightyears away from the iron we were when we first entered that classroom on January 18, 2017.
You heat up the iron. Beat it. Heat it up. Beat it. And that's just one cycle. You do that six times, for six stories.
The heat is the build up. Its the pain of entering the pitching process after having no time to cool down. You stay hot, anticipatory and eventually, you crave it.
The beatings come blow by blow. You never know exactly when they're coming, but it usually correlates to how much effort you put in during the previous days. The less you push in days prior, the harder the beatings get. They don't stop until you are worked to the bone.
Sometimes it takes those blows to make you strong enough to keep you going.
By story six, I knew full well what the expectations were and I was determined to end my 4804 career as heated as ever. So I went big: sex trafficking.
I was thrilled when the idea passed and come pitch day, we didn't get even get through a few minutes before they stopped us. Our professors turn to the class and say its one of the best pitches in years.
Hearing that statement and the magnitude that came with it almost brought me to tears. It said so much at once about how far we'd come and how far we were going in just a few words.
We didn't stop there. My took this heightened expectation and ran with it. We cranked out interviews, narrowed our information and gave a voice to the story. We did it justice, at least I hope.
In the end, that wise professor was right. We have all become steel or at least have a coating of it.
We're tougher, more enduring, but most importantly, their expectations have been deeply rooted in us. We will always have a high standard for ourselves, even if those around us don't. We know how to take the blows, keep going and make something beautiful.
In no way are we stainless steel. We still have flaws without a doubt. But we are lightyears away from the iron we were when we first entered that classroom on January 18, 2017.
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