The Early Journalist
My experience with reading and writing from an early age was deemed prodigal (if not superior) to my fellow peers. I enjoyed reading an eclectic series of short stories, novels, fiction and non-fiction; basically anything I could get my hands on. Everything from the cheesy Bernstein Bears, The Magic Tree House and Juni B. Jones. Eventually working my way up to more challenging books: like A Walk to Remember, Harry Potter, The Notebook, Scientific Journals and so on. Ultimately my desire for reading and writing translated into a sincere passion for Journalism and public speaking. I’ve written for school news papers, participated in several writing competitions and have even won awards because of exceptional writing. In my mind, the more I read, the better my vocabulary and diction became and thus, the better writer I had become.
Entering into Elementary school, I could read basic Dr. Seuss books and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Being an only child, my social interactions were solely with adults; which improved my diction, tenfold. I also became a better writer, being an only child, because I had plenty of time to read and write stories about what I had read. Eventually I was reading at a high school reading level, in third grade. Eventually, as I advanced grades, I was able to take the Florida writes test and received the highest score. In Elementary school it is required that you take a D.A.R.E. course, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. At my school they had a writing competition to see who could write the best D.A.R.E. essay (about staying away from drugs) and I actually won the award. I was 9 years old.
Going into middle and high school, I joined the school newspaper and received the opportunity to write articles for and about the school, that would ultimately be published in the school newspaper. In high school, this was even cooler because we were able to work more heavily with the design aspect of Print Journalism. We integrated special effects, colors and cool design elements that were fun to do and learn. Eventually after being accepted to FGCU and entering the Journalism program I have written only one or two articles for the Eagle newspaper. I have also been able to write my own blog and experiences I have encountered through my adult life. Everything from my family, friends, hobbies, art and more!
Reading in every single avenue of my life plays a sincere and demanding role. I am constantly texting, reading and responding to emails; writing in my blog and proof reading material for school and work. Every single word I write has to mean something and has to touch people, without physically touching them. I have to evoke emotion as a writer, but I have to relay facts as a journalist. The balancing of the two has been remotely difficult, but always worthwhile. Without the written or spoken word, my life would be a blank, dull place.
