I have many ideas about what it is that I will do in the world of journalism - so I'll share the one that seems the most far-fetched and delusional. I would like to start a production company that uses the profits generated by commercial ventures to properly fund and provide resources for documentary projects that I find interesting. I know that this is not a new model, but I would like to improve it and dictate the content on which the company would focus. As far as commercial ventures are concerned, I envision television series that could be considered "info-tainment;" supplemental educational materials that help to illustrate generally elusive topics such as history and math to jr. high and high school students; creating series that promote awareness on life-skills topics such as financial literacy or career choices/development; human interest series that explore the reasoning behind all sides of ongoing social arguments like bilingual education, immigration, and reproductive rights; and lots of "talking heads" history documentaries. I guess, I could say, I want to create a life scenario in which I can explore whatever the hell I want to explore, and produce some kind of documentary/article/series about it. And get paid for it. Therefore, the production company pipe dream.
While I'm working towards that, however, in the world of journalism, I'd imagine I will try to work for a news magazine type program in which I continue to practice the skills of researching, compiling, assembling, and disseminating information.
The decision to come to graduate school was one I have been mulling over for the past couple years. I knew that this level of education was, simply, an experience I wanted out of life. However, when considering a career to which I would be willing to wholly dedicate my time, and one that graduate school would help to facilitate, there were so many factors to consider. I continue to have one unwavering goal: I want to be in the position to help people. Somehow. (I won't go in to the details of why that statement isn't as hokey or idealistic as it sounds. It is just a basic desire I must address.) But when I considered my other requirements: salary, job satisfaction, location, potential co-workers, opportunities to travel, appealing to my own passions, to name a few, I found it difficult to prioritize.
When I was a kid, my father drove me through Skid Row a couple times. I have memories of dusty blocks of empty lots protected by barbed wire laden chain link fences. Butting up against those fences were tents erected by rows and rows of urban campers hanging out on sidewalks in the middle of the day. I don't remember trees, I don't remember toilets; I just remember thinking: how do so many people live here?
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