Make the best of it and never hold yourself back!

So a comment on one of my previous posts made me feel that I should get back into blogging.

It has been a while but because this blog has a readership of one - if I include myself - I thought I could jump on in here and get back into the flow of things without disrupting anybody's life.

During this final semester at Eastern, I've run the arts and entertainment section. This wasn't my first choice but as I've done it longer, I've grown fond of it and think it might have been the best position for me this semester.This brings me to the topics of this blog. You are not always going to be asked to do exactly what you want to do in journalism. It's imperative, however, that you make the best of it. In this case, I have a young staff and have done my best to teach them whatever it is that I know. I acknowledge that my experience is nothing compared to professional journalists. But three internships, seven semesters and five editor positions later, I think I can speak from a pretty decent level when compared to my staffers. That being said, I feel it's an obligation to teach as much as I can before I leave. Not everybody feels that way but the Daily Eastern News is the reason I have any hope of moving on to a career in journalism. And that means a lot to me.

Also, only an editor can tell you what you can't do. In the meantime, you have to continue to push forward with ideas until they run into the proverbial brick wall. At the beginning of the semester, I thought of an idea to begin a Battle of the Bands competition with the section. To be honest, I love live music and thought it'd be cool to put on a live show. Well, 15 bands entered and more than 1,300 votes were cast. On Nov. 7, a packed house watched five bands perform.

It. Was. Awesome.

But the thing is this: I had no idea what to expect but we kept going and pushing through each step. From announcing it and soliciting bands to enter, to asking readers to vote, to announcing the winners, it was a task but it was worth it.

So bottom line: Life/journalism doesn't always give you what you want and some ideas you may think are too far out there. But you have to be able to think positive about any situation and always go after your Battle of the Bands. Some of the greatest journalism in U.S. history has come about because reporters kept pushing. Who's stopping you from being the next producer of that great journalism? Only you are.