I’ve been hunkering down in my little home office here more often than ever recently, all because I’m on a quest. No, I’m not crossing swords with evildoers or standing defiant before a salivating dragon while searching for some sacred bauble (well, not unless you count the occasional bouts in Bethesda’s Oblivion).
I’m penning my way through forms and applications and standing defiant before an open mailbox about once a week until I gather the courage to thrust my hopes and dreams within. I’ve walked through a swamp of booths and flyers and pamphlets that taunt me with visions of the future, and I’ve negotiated terms of trade with numerous officials on unfamiliar territory.
I am meeting new allies. I am venturing beyond old borders. I am searching for an internship. —Chris Ulicne —One good quest deserves another (Below Zero)
A new media journalism major begins contemplating the Real World in earnest.
I feel much the same way about my presence here at Seton Hill. It’s been great starting a new program and watching it grow, and seeing how students react when they really start seeing themselves interacting in the real world rather than just “doing homework”.
I hadn’t noticed this until just now. My shadow precedes me yet again.
It was an awakening of sorts when I first stepped out of my little university shell and realized that the new media hullabaloo is real (and for me, substantially present locally). More importantly, it all has a real application that will get something accomplished beyond generating cyclical criticism and theory (which are important, but pointless unless there is some content out there to criticize and theorize about).
There are people all over the Net that are looking for all the help they can get; really, it’s just a matter of finding the ones you like who are doing things that interest you. The best part is, most of them are independents or small businesses, so you don’t feel pressured to become a cutthroat or a sellout in order to get your foot in the door. You’re dealing with people who are still very much in touch with what it means to be a “newbie,” because most of them are still learning, right along with you.