The Dream is Real

          They warned us time would fly by in London but I never imagined to this extent. Our second week has come to a close and it's been another cluster of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. First up: I went bowling for the first time in my life! Shout out to Ty and Kelsey for teaching me the fancy footwork. It was a calm and fun night with a great group of friends. The bowling place, ironically named Queen's Ice and Bowl, was comfortingly American. Fries were called fries, the pizza tasted just like it would at home. I realized during this outing how quickly I've become friends with these people. As the days pass, I'm able to have one-on-one conversations with everybody. I've learned here more than ever not to judge a book by its cover. All of these guys have something their passionate about and their own stories. We're different and personalities definitely clash but I think that's an important factor of this trip. We're all learning to interact and understand each other. I for one am proud to be in a group with such driven and intelligent people.

On Tuesday, we visited The Economist and Publicis, both of which were incredibly eye opening. I've always been pretty set on what I wanted to do with my degree but these one-on- one conversations with actual professionals has taught me that the sky is truly the limit. Advertising, for example, is something I never understood and almost hated (sorry Alexa you know I love you!). But after visiting Publicis and seeing how much of an impact advertisers have on what people feel and think, I gained a news respect for the profession. I only wish I was creative enough to explore that avenue more!



Print journalism, feature writing, is something I've always stayed far away from. But the importance of print and newspapers in the U.K, and around the world, is still impressive. It might be a struggling industry in the United States but print is holding strong in London. In some ways, print is a better avenue for an opinionated person, like myself. The Economist doesn't use bylines for this very reason. They never claimed to be unbiased, in fact they have a clear mission/opinion for each article. I found it refreshing to see a successful news outlet not afraid of losing certain audiences to stand up for what they believe in. Visiting places that aren't necessarily up my alley has only made me a better journalist. I'm starting to understand how all media, in general, work.


The highlight of my entire week came on Wednesday! Our wonderful professors were able to get us into the NBC London office. As a self-proclaimed news junkie with a dream of becoming a international news reporter...this was a huge deal. Understatement of the year. I was buzzing! First of all, we had a Q and A with news veterans like Cheryll Simpson, a producer for NBC, and one of the camera-men who had previously worked for CNN. Two NBC online journalist also joined us! It was amazing to finally meet professionals in my field of work. These were people I needed and wanted to know. Cheryll wasted no time in reminding all the broadcast students that this job was not glamorous. We are not celebrities, we are not just a pretty face, we are journalist. First and foremost, a broadcaster needs to love the news. There's nothing worse than meeting a journalism student who has no idea why they are studying in this field. I live, breathe news and have no problem vocalizing my passion.

During our time there, Katy Tur, a NBC Correspondent, was in the studio shooting a live shot for the Today Show in America. Literally one minute later, she ended up in our conference room! Guys, you couldn't believe how excited I was. Right before me was someone living my dream. The fact that I got to ask her questions and introduce myself to them all was a privilege. Knowing it was my one chance to network hardcore, I immediately went up to Katy and asked her about interning and advice on broadcast stuff (like live shots, package writing). And then she took my hand and led me to her desk so that she could give me her last interns phone number! o__o He apparently was part of a program that got him into NBC for an internship and she said he would be able to answer more of my questions. This was such a huge moment for me. This international news correspondent was giving me advice and she was so sweet, relatable, and down to earth. I feel like I connected with Katy and I think she could see the passion I had for journalism. All in all, it was the best day I've had here yet. This is why I came. This is why studying in London was so important to me.

The week was full of our group seeing how possible living our dream was. In journalism, advertising, and even PR, I feel we are all often told to think "realistically." Just because I chose to study and pursue something other than the conventional or mediocre, my dreams are suddenly unattainable. I've always been confident in my craft. And confident that I will succeed. I won't stop trying until I succeed but that's the best part of it. I love what I do and I know I will serve a greater good. The hours, the stress, the deadlines...it will all be worth it when I make a difference, when we make a difference.

This week we learned the dream was possible and real and just as amazing as we hoped.



                                                 Listening in London:





PSA: I was overwhelmed with the amount of readers I had on my first post! Feel free to comment, ask questions, any feedback at all. Thanks for reading my rambles.