A fresh start

This quarter marks my 7th with the SFCC Communicator and once again I am a section editor. This time it is for the Flavors (Food and Drink) section of the paper. To say that I am a little excited is a bit of an understatement. I am ecstatic, not only because I get to preside over a section and help develop my design skills, but also because I feel like things are coming full circle.

Last year I was the Sports/Sidelines Editor for the first two quarters and then decided to give the reigns of to someone else. The person who I thought was originally going to take over my position ended up not doing it, mostly but I think was my fault, but I find it better not to ask those kind of questions and just move on. So Sidelines was taken over by one whom we all affectionately refer to as Breezy. I was her only writer, and while we survived the quarter, I felt less satisfied, not because of anything Breezy did. She was fantastic. It was because of my selfishness and my desire to "stand out" that caused my writing and my reputation to suffer.

Summer of 2009 was a bit of a fresh start for me. After passing perhaps two of the hardest classes I had taken at that time (Math 99 and Journalism 224) I was filled with new confidence and new self esteem. I had also undergone some living changes, which also helped towards this fresh start. I had also spent the Summer planning out different aspects of the Fantasy world that I am creating. Although I had only produced a few stories over those few months, I felt refreshed for the quarter.

When it came to rejoin the Communicator, I made sure to tone things down and not try to be that goofy guy in class and focused on what stories I would be writing. We have one of those guys already, and he ended up being my section editor.

One thing I feel I had wished I had done more that quarter was to take more of an interest in the new writers coming in. I kind of wished I had helped them a little bit more. And yet, when I look back at that quarter, I found myself rolling my eyes, not because of the issues that Hil, Sarah, and Madison had to address. It was the questions that were never asked by the new writers. It was also the questions that were asked, but were answered at the beginning of the quarter. Of course those people who weren't paying attention are gone and its a brand new day.

The stories I got to write that quarter were some of my best. I profiled people and classes who weren't profiled in the past, which included SFCC's Othotics and Prosthetics program, a student veteran, and a new club who went through the process of becoming an official campus club. I even got to cover a mixed martial arts event that included a title change and a girl fight.

At the risk of ending on a cliche note, I will say that while this quarter brings new challenges (I am asking myself "how does one go about writing food and drink) I will put my best foot foward, put on my game face, and work with my writers and hopefully produce some kick-ass work in the Flavors section this quarter.

Off the top of your head :

• While perusing a career, a goal, a dream, did you ever find yourself in a hard place? Were you able to get out of that place? What steps did you take to get back that drive and how did iteventually work out?

Here are a couple of links to the stories on the Communicator website

My Orthotics and Prosthetics piece "Helping Hands"
http://faculty.spokanefalls.edu/Communicator/sections/focus/stories/story_3.html

Joseph Engle's "Last Call" one of my favorite stories to come out of last quarter
http://faculty.spokanefalls.edu/Communicator/sections/focus/stories/last_call.html

Past Issues of the Communicator.
http://issuu.com/sfcccommunicator

Make sure you check out the rest of the Communicator website as it constantly updates and changes.

email me at sfcc.al.stover@gmail.com