Today, I began a new commitment that would bring me to San Jose State University every day for the next two weeks. Before coming, I expected to not be accepted into the program, but am pleasantly surprised to find out that I would be able to attend.
Upon arrival to the newsroom, I quickly made two new acquaintances and very quickly broke the ice with them. I was nervous at first because I was treading into an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar field of study and work. But very quickly, I was able to adapt to the new atmosphere because I opened myself up to every possibility. I was prepared for the worst and in the end, I was met with one of the best possible scenarios that I could ask for: I met with people with and without experience in journalism that had plenty of common ground that we could meet on.
It took a little bit of time for everyone to warm up and break the ice. I was even scared that the other people in Mosaic would be timid, anti-social or simply just dislike me in particular. However, this was not the case. At breakfast, everyone was silent because it was still early and everyone was still reading the newspaper. After this, though, we were all brought into the main room to introduce ourselves and the mood completely changed. It was clear that everyone was starting to have a lot more fun than they were before.
Soon after, we began interviews of partners that we would be doing bios for. I myself had the pleasure of meeting Lindsay Wang, a rising junior at Foothill High School with a background not too different from my own. I learned a lot about her and I discovered that she is likely to be a great friend that I may want to keep in touch with.
After these interviews, we had a presentation and a couple more pair assignments, but with different partners. Not long after, time would fly by and lunchtime would arrive and we’d go off in groups to enjoy ourselves for an hour while we try to make friends and get to know each other.
As soon as lunch came to an end, we were met with more work as we had to begin writing our story ideas. I learned a bit more terminology and expanded my vocabulary and got to think a little more like a journalist. Now, I have a lot more respect for what they do because it is difficult. Stories are hit or miss and there’s only so much you can do to improve your odds of having it be a hit.
Now, the end of the first day has come and I’ve developed a better understanding of my role here. I also have new expectations of myself, my instructors and my peers. Moving forward, I hope to come out of Mosaic as a more experienced, smarter and overall better person.