The Final

So after being late to our final presentations, I thought I could at least do my blog on time.  However, I went to Chicago with my friends.  I apologize for this entry being late.

This semester we learned about new technology, twitter, flash, flickr, RSS, final cut, b-roll, etc., etc.  We learned better writing skills, clear and present nut grafs, telling a story, transitioning from stats and context to the personal and the individual.  We learned how to conduct better interviews, on camera interviews, professional sources to use and getting a person’s story.

I think these lessons were the ones we were suppose to learn.  The ones on the syllabus and the ones that the professors and students expected.  However, our advanced reporting class taught me another lesson off the syllabus, a more universal.  This semester’s class was an experiment in adaptability.

When I registered for the advanced reporting class, I never thought video, audio and multimedia editing would come into play.  I expected the class to be news writing on crack.  It turned out to be a completely different experience–the curriculum was still on crack, however.

I remember the apprehension during the first week of school.  Meg, Molly and I looked at each other with trembling fear in our eyes.  We could write, but we were being asked to tell stories with video, flash and other mutlimedia forms.  Unlike some classes we had took in past semesters, this class challenged us to learn new skills, not just rely on our existing abilities.  I was not prepared for this, and doubted my ability to adapt to the new forms. 

Once we started discussing our projects, I realized that we could use video and graphics to our advantage.  They were tools.  We had to use them to do a project, to accomplish a goal.  Some aspects of our projects needed different tools to build and create them.  I needed to adapt.  My skill set evolved from just writing to shooting and editing video, manipulating sound clips and taking photographs. 

I have carried this lesson in adaptabilty into other disciplines.  After I adandoned a Chemistry major fresman year, I thought I never needed to take another math or science class again.  I was going to delve completely into the humanities.  Now, after getting into political science, I will be taking an upperlevel math class.  I realized that if I wanted to excel in the field, I needed a different tool to use.  It just so happened that this new tool would be applied calculus.