The University of Blog

My schedule includes the wonderful absence of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is one of the best scheduling decisions that I’ve made in my college career. Also, I don’t start until nine or ten. On Wednesdays, I had my Intermediate Writing class. I am really excited. I am going to learn about long form, narrative journalism and it will have an arts focus. We will get information on characters, dialog and development of a story. This is a perspective that so far, I have not received from any of my journalism classes. It will be a lot of work, but it is worth it. For the first time in a long time, I am actually excited about a journalism class.

Welcome back Mizzou students. It’s  really exciting to see all of the freshman still carrying their Mizzou maps. Thinking about the fact that I was there two years ago made me feel kind of old. I’ve had a lot of great experiences in those two years, and it’s fun to see all of the new students.

I went to the new Reynolds Journalism Institute. What a building! I will be having class in the futures lab which is  a multimedia newsroom. The building is unparalleled. I am just happy that it is finally done in time for the centennial. My convergence class met there, and it will be exciting. I will be spending time in two newsrooms– Kbia a well as Current TV or the Columbia Missourian. I am excited to do some individual reporting as well as editing and producing.

My other two classes today were Hispanic Lit II and Communications Law. Spanish will be challenging since we will have a lot of essays and in class paper. It seems like my professor knows a lot about analyzing literature, which will be an interesting perspective. Com Law will include a lot of studying, which is totally manageable. For now, I’ll know more about my workload a week or two into classes. So we’ll see.

After my conference on poverty, I went to stay with my aunt and uncle who live in San Francisco. It was great to be able to visit them- it had been a couple of years since I’d been out there last. I knew my mom wanted to be there, but it was nice to have some one-on-one time with them. I visited my grandpa in Palo Alto on one day and then we had a nice family dinner where my other aunt and uncle stopped by.

Then since they had to work on Monday, I made a day of it. I visited my aunt’s office and then we went out to a sushi restaurant where it rotates around and you grab whichever sushi you want. When my aunt grabbed the raw calamari, I knew that the limit of my cuisine curiosity ended there. Needless to say, I did not try it. After my meal, I visited the modern art museum or (MOMA) and saw the Frieda Kahlo exhibit. It was super crowded but definitely worth it to be able to see those unforgettable works in person.

I also had a nerve-wracking bus ride to the Haight (or hippie central). While the bus was uncomfortable, it was great to explore the city and be able to see some sights. Earlier in the week I visited Pier 39 and had some delicious clam chowder. Then I was able to visit the public radio station KQED—the most listened to public radio station in the United States. I met up with a someone who runs a health show that introduced me to everyone at the station including the former news director who was really excited about convergence. I walked out of his office wanting to work there. The huge bowl of dark chocolate sitting out reaffirmed that desire. If anything was a sign, that was.

All in all, it was a great trip full of excitement before school starts Monday–A mini-vacation that was greatly needed.

Last week, I traveled to San Francisco for a conference on poverty. It was put on by the National Network of Presbyterian College Women—and my church paid my way. Last year the conference was in D.C., but I thought that the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge was a significant indicator that I should go again this year.

At first the topics did not seem to tie into the theme of The Power of Poverty much. We talked about race, class and gender and the intersections among them. I found that what really resonated with me was the discussion about class. With everyone so quick to classify themselves as in the middle class, class as a topic is generally glossed over. However, I learned that class actually includes more than I would have expected, and the divisions among class have very little to do with a person’s income. I learned that it actually has more to do with knowledge of middle class values, and access to resources such as education, emotional connections, coping strategies and health resources.

This really opened my ideas to understanding the different classes. For example, if a person won 10 million dollars–that would not automatically make them in the upper class (two generations are needed to change class) but rather what would make them mobile within class would be acting and having the understanding of the upper class and so forth. I really enjoyed the discussions, and I learned that it actually had a lot to do with poverty because it is all interwoven.

What opened my eyes to poverty was our visit to the Tenderloin district—one of the most concentrated poor districts in San Francisco. We walked the streets and saw a man pull out needles out of a black bag, smelled pot on the streets and say people just standing around looking hungry, but not necessarily begging. When we returned to the Network Ministries (an outreach nonprofit in the area) to discuss what we had seen, it seemed as if each girl saw a different thing. The buildings weren’t decrepit, the people seemed to have a sense of community, but we all saw that there was a need for something to be done. With less funding for mental health services, many people are not getting the help that they need. Network Ministries helps prostituted women leave that lifestyle as well as provides other services including counseling.

After this workshop, I left refreshed. After seeing and hearing all of this, it is easy to become really discouraged about all the poverty in all the different forms that exist. However, I live in a community where there is poverty as well – maybe not as severe as the Tenderloin district- but still I could make a change if I decided to. And you know what? It is possible if I find my niche and a way to contribute that I could make a difference. I just need to find where I fit.

I actually have an update. After a slow summer full of hanging out, swimming, working and enjoying every moment, I finally have had a real adventure.

I moved in. And it happened to be one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Well, we got the key and entered the door on August 1, and nothing was done. This includes painting, cleaning or any maintenance. We were ready to move. Our parents came in town, and we had rented a truck. I wanted to walk away right then and find the nicest apartment in Columbia. It was really awful. Well, my roommate’s dad decided that we could do the painting ourselves. So we ended up painting, cleaning and moving all in the SAME day.

As I was painting in the kitchen, I hear a scream. Sure enough the scream came from my roommates’ room where her parents were installing a window air conditioning unit. When I got to the room, everyone was gathered around the window. Sure enough it fell out the window and crashed two stories below.

Then our box springs didn’t fit up the stairwell. And our knob to the hot water in the shower fell off. We had to use pliers to get it to work for the past few weeks. I still don’t have a bedroom door.

Now, we are finally moved in and settled. Jimmy the cat joined our little family. I love my room. And once we put some art up, it will truly be a home– with a few maintenance issues that will maybe be resolved in two weeks to a year. Who knows.