Dreaming something wild and improbable

As my last full week working at the paper comes to a close, I have been reflecting on my time spent here this summer and my future plans, a daunting thought. 

My second summer of the paper has been an interesting time as I’ve had a better understanding of things than I did last summer. Thank goodness for that. For example, this year I was in charge of doing billing (sorry for any mistakes I made. Blame Eli, he’s the one who checks them). Last year, learning billing was a hassle. But now, I have been able to burn through them in a couple of hours. 

But it’s not just the billing or office work that has improved. Now that I have a better understanding of all of those things, I have been able to appreciate the connections I have made. Like meeting Gloria Butler while taking pictures for Helen Fowler’s 103rd birthday. Or talking with the lovely Terri Ingram during a tour of the high school. Or catching up with my good pal Dr. Miller. 

And then there’s all the nice folk that come into the office to drop off subscription money or give story ideas. I have become appreciative of the short interactions I’ve had meeting these wonderful people. I don’t know if it’s just a Waseca thing or a people thing, but most everyone I run across are great people. So keep it up you guys.

Sadly though, I have to move on. I will continue to write columns for the Pioneer, but once school starts again I’m afraid there will be no more stories from me. I know, I know, everyone is just devastated. 

During the school year I will be working for the school newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. I worked there last fall before I studied abroad and it was fun. It was also slightly weird though, coming from a small town newspaper where I was covering events at the library to writing stories about union strikes, the pandemic, and the safety of the campus. 

Next summer I am hoping to get an internship with a larger news source, such as the Star Tribune or MPR. Maybe I’ll even go to New York for the summer and work as an intern for the New York Times. My goal before graduating is to have some experience in all types of news reporting so that when I leave school, I will have a better understanding of what I want to do once I step into the career world. I could be a foreign reporter, an editor, a radio show host, a blogger. It’s a wonder to think where this life will take me. Hopefully someplace fun. 

My Determination: “You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable. Something beautiful and full of monsters."

“Beautiful and full of monsters?” “All the best stories are.” 

― Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer