“Can’t this wait ’till I’m old, can’t I live while I’m young?” This Phish quote became something to live by this year. It was spit out in a vulgar fashion more times than one. But it was worth it.
Many say 50-hour workweeks combined with being on call 24 hours a day is a job that should wait or, better yet, never be taken. Students call the hours and work insane. I call it living the life of a college journalist. … I call it normal.
As an 18-year-old college freshman, I climbed the steps of The Badger Herald with no idea what I was getting myself into. After a semester of reporting and a quick promotion to an editor position, workdays became stressful, chaotic and resulted in a few gray hairs. But as the semesters continued, a pattern developed. I was seeing things, covering events and talking to people that I never would have imagined at 20 years old.
Oh, the things I’ve seen. …
* At the beginning of the political frenzy that would be the 2004 presidential election, a group of Heralders traveled to the Iowa caucus, where I witnessed the famous “Dean Scream.” Yes, he screamed. Yes, it was dramatic. Yes, it was blown out of proportion by the media. And yet seeing a presidential hopeful whip off his suit jacket with an intense shout and follow with a “speech” of state ramblings was priceless.
* A few months later, I found myself sitting on a hill, shivering and watching as police officers pointed guns into the marshy, wooded area next to the Alliant Energy Center. Miss Audrey Seiler had just surfaced after her disappearance stint. And I was there, covering it … for four hours. There’s nothing better than having an inkling something is off, that perhaps there’s a huge chunk of information not being told to the press, and yet I still sit and wait for the “abductor” to emerge. As any good University of Wisconsin student knows, the big, bad man never did.
* Flash forward further into the election run. I’m looking over a crowd of tens of thousands of people. I’m in the air, on a shaking platform, held up by a crane. I’m staring down at the approximately 80,000 individuals congregated to hear presidential hopeful John Kerry speak. Bruce Springsteen accompanies Kerry. It’s an absolutely breathless sight.
* The election has passed, and I’m back to Iowa to see the Badgers’ chance at a Rose Bowl bid drift away. A photo pass dangles around my neck, accompanied by a camera worth more than every point-and-shoot I’ve ever owned combined. I watch the game from the sidelines. My jeans are caked with mud from kneeling and my fingers are numb. Much of the time is spent walking past the Badger bench, trying to catch a picture of Anthony Davis. I’m struck by how tiny and hilarious I look standing next to any player on the team. In the end, Iowa fans rush the field in their victory. So bittersweet. Great experience. Disappointing outcome.
* A few months later, I sit on the floor with a photo pass and camera once again. This time I’m at the University of Illinois, watching the Badgers try to beat the No. 1-rated basketball team. No such luck, but I was close enough to get great pictures of a certain attractive player.
* And then there’s my true passion: music. As a college journalist, free passes and interview opportunities surface, but they usually doesn’t equate to an after-show gathering with fans, friends and family of the band. This time it did. Off the record, conversations ran rampant. … it was an incredible time with my favorite band.
I have sacrificed sleep. I have grown accustomed to permanent bags under my eyes. I have begged for paper extensions from professors. And I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve never viewed my job as a chore, as something I should be doing when I’m old rather than now. I’ve viewed my job as living. The life of a college journalist is hectic, exciting and draining. It’s the only time you’re going to cover the things you love, whether it be yet another protest, a college game for all the marbles or a concert at this young-adult age. This is the only time we’ll run every day on fewer than four hours of sleep, go to class in pajamas and still pull decent grades.
It’s been a wild ride. Thank you.
