When it comes down to it, the one thing that began my interest in journalism was the HBO drama, The Newsroom. Seeing Will McAvoy begin as a man so repressed that he lashes out at a college student and end as an enlightened individual on a quest to civilize the world was inspiring. The cast was wonderful, and the characters had more than enough depth for me to want to become them. It has been years since I viewed that first episode, but my appreciation and interest in the field of news production has not waned.Though the last few years haven’t been a walk in the park, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I wouldn’t be sitting here in class, writing to the editor of the Globe and Mail for the chance to participate in a journalism conference. I wouldn’t be well on the way to getting my diploma and making my dreams come true. It’s possible, that without The Newsroom and my ensuing interest in journalism, that I wouldn’t be alive today.
Journalism started out as an interest, something to wonder about before I drifted off to sleep. Now, it’s more than that. I am more driven today than I have been in the last 24 years. Having something to truly live for is not how I expected my life to go. Being able to go to this conference, being able to converse with and pick the minds of people in the industry, would be fulfilling another dream.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m actually going to accomplish something. I feel like the world is my oyster and I’m craving shellfish.
The fact that you are even trying to do something like this, that you are willing to go out of your way is astounding.
In any case, journalism is why I’m alive today and I want to share the hope that it brought me with other people. I want to show people that it’s not an insurmountable task to follow your dreams. I want people to know that all it takes to save someone’s life, is give them something to live for, to give them a dream, just as Aaron Sorkin and The Newsroom did for me.