Why do I write? Why do I want to be a journalist? Why do I like profiles and feature pieces? Here's why.

Navigating The World As A Communications Professional

Lifestyle and culture surround us. Beginning to think about my role in such a society serves as a catalyst to a stream of conscious thought and a flood of emotions.

A need to be proactive in one's happiness arises when that person, like me, finds themselves driven with a sort of zeal for independence. For me this practice of proactive exploration began in college. So what do self-proclaimed independent only children do to bide their time, when surrounded by the endless corn fields of Illinois, you’re probably (not) wondering. Because, let’s be honest, it’d be quite narcissistic to assume anyone is pondering this conundrum so specifically designed for me. Anyway, individuals like myself who are fueled by their independent streak go on walks. Eight, thirteen mile walks.

Not only is walking the perfect low impact form of exercise that combines breathing and a natural use of one’s muscles. It is also currently all the rage on tiktok (I was doing this prior to it being the “hot girl” trend it is now, I assure you.) Like I mentioned before, it all started in Illinois at college

Urbana-Champaign is the perfect college town. For an international student it was the stuff of movies. The perfect self-sustaining ecosystem featuring the dichotomy that exists amongst college students. Treading the line between the two towns was like walking down a typical American highschool hallway. Or so I gather from the Hollywood movies I’ve consumed in the plentiful. Individuals on the Urbana side were a liberal arts school, and everything that encompasses, personified. I’m talking about local bands, environmentally conscious small businesses, hippie clothing, mushroom coffee, you get the picture, right? Champaign was like the polar opposite twin. It encompassed boisterous Greek life, lively downtown bars, all the, oh so healthy, big name restaurants like McDonalds and Panda Express. Walking around campus made my entire world suddenly seem so small, comprehensible.

I’d walk till the ends, teasing the limits and “bounds” of what was considered campus and what wasn’t. Walk down south long enough, the campus farm’s lovely cows and horses would remind you that you are indeed in the midwest. Walk up north past the engineering quad and you’d discover the wondrous Busey woods. To the east of campus were beautiful historic Urbana homes with real character featuring wild flowers and overgrown grass. To the left, west of campus, in Champaign the climate was rather different. This side of town included neatly trimmed green lawns, tall perfect houses. As a passerby I took it all in. For four years shuttling between these two varied worlds made up my perception of reality. Asides from being a full time student, I had become a subconscious explorer of the intricacies of Urbana-Champaign. Writing for the school newspaper meant I could tell the tale of two cities.

And then there’s New York. Upon graduating I moved to the home of dreamers. Yes, that’s correct, in hopes to be unique I joined a city full of unique individuals. At the time New York was a new beast. Six months since my move, it still is.

A city like New York is bursting at the seams with colorful stories on every faded pavement corner and within every storied neoclassicist building with brick walls inside. Perhaps more exciting than the history that meets the naked eye, is the history in the making no one is seeing. It’s happening as you read this. It’s a privilege to uncover such mysteries. Because in a city like New York where one door closes, a fire escape leading to many many poorly sealed windows becomes available.

Walking is also the best way to take in your surroundings. It allows you to step out of your own body and your head. As you wander aimlessly around the streets, of say New York or a small college town like Urbana-Champaign, hoping not to be perceived, you do notice a couple things. As though in a moving in an ever evolving looking-glass you notice everyone existing within their personalized realities in a single moment in time. Your physical displacement is complemented by the freefall of thoughts within your mind. So as you cross Broadway, your mind wanders beyond. An exercise for your mind, if you will.

With New York came a lesson. My incessant obsession of always being on the move came to a halt. I discovered the unsaid understanding people shared when they shared a common space like a cafe. I learned, in the city that always seems to be on the move, the importance of slowing down. Sipping on a hot flat white, at a local watering hole can teach you just as much if you remember to really look. Look long and hard enough and you begin to see within.

So as your imagination ebbs and flows, your heart swells with a warm fuzzy feeling and you consider the world of possibilities. A world of stories. Perhaps most compelling is when the cold hard fact sets in and you realize, when I realized that I, me, I live in this crazy wild city. That I, like many others, have a plethora of glorious stories to uncover. The one true constant truly is change and people will forever be changing the world. I’m just lucky to get to share the news. Whether I’m walking or sitting.

(written in January 2023)