college is not about success (and by success I mean what this world deems as success)
I was making my bed this morning (well, more like this afternoon because I am a college student) and I was wondering what was the point of it all. And when I say it all, I mean college, which really isn't "it all." I've been feeling like college is ridiculous lately. Being a journalism student in one of the most prestigious journalism schools in the country, I am told that I need to be going out and writing, getting clips, getting my name out there, networking and doing all of these "important" things to make sure I am a "success." And then as I was making my bed, it hit me. The most important thing that I can learn as a reporter is to listen to people.
I feel like so much of journalism is about getting the story, that in interviewing it's all about the story, but in reality, the story is all about you. Finding a "good story" is all about the efforts of the writer. The writer is writing a story not for the sake of the story being told, but for the sake of being the story teller. It's all about the writer and the writer's skills. It's about the writer making the story.
Thinking about this, I realized interviewing was all about getting the right quotes and the right information, so the writer can then take all that they got from the interview and weave it into a good story. It's all about the story. But what about those words pouring forth from the mouths of others? What about the words they are saying? What about their experience as human beings?
What would happen if instead of listening for the sake of the story, I listened for the sake of the person? That instead of being a reporter I could be a real and relational person, caring about what the person is saying because their words are valuable because they are coming from a human being?
The story is merely another accomplishment to throw on a pile of other accomplishments. It's another way for a person to be recognized as being someone. I have been reading Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What and I have begun to see how much time I spend trying to validate myself through others. Miller talks about how one of the consequences of the Fall is that instead of seeking our affirmation in God, we seek our affirmation, our value, through others. We are so insecure and consumed by ourselves that we seek affirmation in the most absurd places. We want to be liked. We want to be seen as valuable.
God loves us so deeply and we are so infinitely precious to Him it's so hard to comprehend at times.
I'm beginning to see how deeply relational God is. God's love makes me want to go out and love others. And because I am a human being, I will never be able to love others as God loves them. But I know that through God I can help others know that they are loved.
I realize that I am not at college to get a career and be successful in terms of how this world views success. I am at college to learn more about God and learn more about His children. I am at college to learn what it means to be a relational human being, handcrafted by a loving God. I'm here to learn how to love, how to listen, how to be a real human being. Because I am not made of wood and I am not made of dust. But my loving God, my Creator, has breathed life into me.
I feel like so much of journalism is about getting the story, that in interviewing it's all about the story, but in reality, the story is all about you. Finding a "good story" is all about the efforts of the writer. The writer is writing a story not for the sake of the story being told, but for the sake of being the story teller. It's all about the writer and the writer's skills. It's about the writer making the story.
Thinking about this, I realized interviewing was all about getting the right quotes and the right information, so the writer can then take all that they got from the interview and weave it into a good story. It's all about the story. But what about those words pouring forth from the mouths of others? What about the words they are saying? What about their experience as human beings?
What would happen if instead of listening for the sake of the story, I listened for the sake of the person? That instead of being a reporter I could be a real and relational person, caring about what the person is saying because their words are valuable because they are coming from a human being?
The story is merely another accomplishment to throw on a pile of other accomplishments. It's another way for a person to be recognized as being someone. I have been reading Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What and I have begun to see how much time I spend trying to validate myself through others. Miller talks about how one of the consequences of the Fall is that instead of seeking our affirmation in God, we seek our affirmation, our value, through others. We are so insecure and consumed by ourselves that we seek affirmation in the most absurd places. We want to be liked. We want to be seen as valuable.
God loves us so deeply and we are so infinitely precious to Him it's so hard to comprehend at times.
I'm beginning to see how deeply relational God is. God's love makes me want to go out and love others. And because I am a human being, I will never be able to love others as God loves them. But I know that through God I can help others know that they are loved.
I realize that I am not at college to get a career and be successful in terms of how this world views success. I am at college to learn more about God and learn more about His children. I am at college to learn what it means to be a relational human being, handcrafted by a loving God. I'm here to learn how to love, how to listen, how to be a real human being. Because I am not made of wood and I am not made of dust. But my loving God, my Creator, has breathed life into me.