One year in, I’ve learned several things

Elizabeth Golden

As you may have observed by now, my columns usually consist of ramblings followed by a stream of consciousness.

This column began the exact same way. I wasn’t sure what to write, so I started writing about how sad it is that the holidays are over.

While it is sad, this column really bored me. I get bored easily, and I really don’t like being bored.

Who does?

Well, then I started thinking of world events, or anything mildly interesting to write about. Then it clicked. As of today, I have been in the professional journalism field for a year.

I started at the Hays Daily News on Jan. 6, 2014. I remember that day better than most. I remember pulling up in the parking lot around 7:30 a.m. The workday started at 8, and I grossly overestimated how long it would take to get to the office. I lived about eight minutes away.

I watched coworkers enter, one-by-one. At this point, I’m not sure if I was more nervous or terrified. I was excited for the future, but at the same time, I was terrified I would fail. This is the career I had wanted pretty much my entire life, and now I was about to begin my future.

I had no idea what would happen next. I had no idea how I was going to handle moving to a city alone and knowing no one there.

I waited in my car for a good 15 minutes to not seem over eager. Finally, I entered; found my manager; filled out paperwork, and was asked if I wanted a story.

I hadn’t even been there 30 minutes and I was expected to hit the ground running. This thought excited me. My manager didn’t know me, but yet he trusted me with a story.

I felt out of my element at first. I wasn’t sure how to professionally word a work email. I didn’t know how to contact real world sources. Until this point, all the interaction I had was on a college campus and colleges do a good job of making sure getting hold of people is easy. I struggled a bit, but then it all clicked. I found my rhythm. I connected with sources. I felt a sense of belonging.

There was no way I could have predicted where I am today — the news editor of a small paper in Maryville.

In the past year, I have met countless public officials and figures. Know of Lauren Potter? She plays Becky Jackson on Glee. I interviewed her. It was pretty awesome.

I covered a police standoff. Last April in Hays, someone decided to steal a car and camp out in a house. Dozens of police cars flocked to the area. I stood out in the cold, without my coffee, for a good three hours.

I wrote about and became friends with a professional hypnotist. Apparently hypnotism really works, but I still have a hard time believing it.

I was taught more about rodeos than I ever thought possible. The first rodeo I attended was in Hays back in May. I had no idea how oblivious I was to the entire rodeo lifestyle. I asked the photographer, “what happens at a rodeo,” and she laughed at me.

I met Miss Rodeo Kansas. It was a very enlightening experience.

I learned more about how much I enjoy teaching others about journalism.

I worked as an adviser for the school media in Hays, and it gave extra meaning to my life to feel like I was giving those kids some of my (minimal) wisdom. That experience made me realize how much I really want to teach at the college level some day.

While my experiences in Hays were more focused on specific stories I’ve completed, the Maryville Daily Forum taught me the power of community journalism and how to put together a newspaper. In Hays, I did my job, wrote my stories, occasionally did production of the paper, but had little to do with producing the overall paper. Here, I have learned about all aspects of news production, from reporting to editing to designing. This experience is invaluable.

I’m sure there were more important experiences that meant something at the time, but looking back, those are the ones I remember.

It has been a great first year in the field.

I look forward to many more.