My Dream Job

My dream job is definitely being a writer. If you've seen Blood Diamond in my fantasy world I envision myself to be a Maddy Bowen, a courageous journalist not afraid to cover any story, even a story in an African country torn apart by war. Sidebar: Maddy always manages that perfect ruffled-yet-pulled-together look, even when running through a jungle or dodging bullets. That would be me, too. By the end of the movie, Maddy's journalism has led to something good. That's how I see this fantasy job of mine, combining my love of writing, politics, and travel to do some good in adventurous places.

In many ways, this blog is a first step into pretending I am a writer. For a brief spell in college I was a reporter for my Midwestern college paper. A news reporter, to be precise. My beat was faculty and staff and during my tenure there was a labor strike on campus. I was running all over campus and the newsroom, getting quotes from the labor union and the university administration. I had my white reporter's notebook, a pen, and wore whatever I deemed fashionable at the time.

Now that the reporting train has left the station, and it seems the news journalism industry is undergoing some changes, I live vicariously through this blog. But this week, with only 10 days before the deadline, I discovered a magazine contest I can enter. It requires an essay of 1500 words or less on the topic of the moment the writer first realized they were an adult. I've been doing some thinking on that topic and I think I can muster 1500 words. At the very least, it is a second foray into writing.