i had to write a letter explaining why I want to be in Magazine at Ryerson. there are a limited number of spaces in the magazine stream. If i don't get in, i won't be heartbroken. Lately, i've loved broadcast. Rachel, wonderful girl that she is, pointed out that if it's right my career would end up in broadcast anyway. So i might as well study what i think is the most fun. i hope that comes across.This is what i wrote:
In 2005, a 22-year-old kid from Alberta came to Ryerson with small hands and big dreams. After spending the last two years pounding the pavement, meeting rejection upon rejection as a zealous Mormon missionary, Greg was ready for a change. He was ready to be trained in a job that would bring him unquestioned respect and relaxation. Wisely, he chose Journalism. He would be an anchor somewhere. Actually, he would be a fake anchor, dealing in fake news a la Jon Stewart. This was his dream. It would bring fame, fortune, and constant accolades from the fawning liberal media. He couldn’t wait.
Almost everything about that has changed in the past year, except sadly the size of my hands. Originally, I had thought that I would, as implied, venture into the broadcast stream, and whether ironically or not, inform Canadians via television. I don’t know if my dreams are less lofty now, but they are hopefully more realistic. I want to write for magazines. The great thing is this excites me just the same.
Thinking back, it’s odd that I would have been so eager for broadcast coming in to Ryerson. Sure, I watched the news, but I took my greatest pleasure from reading magazines. I loved GQ, Esquire, Details, Mclean’s, and Toro. I would watch television news because it was on, almost passively. But I would seek out magazines. And not just because of the possibility of seeing a pretty girl amidst the articles. I liked that feature length articles seemed to have personality, depth, and answers. Magazines somehow achieved the oft sought after balance between fun and informative. And they did it subtly. So subtly that I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be a part of magazine creation until I got to practice it.
This year, assignment after assignment in my feature class would come and I wouldn’t stress in the least. I would worry. I actually enjoyed it. I think there are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, it was liberating. I could write longer sentences, be flashier, more literary. I could have the style that I struggled, joyfully, to suppress in print. And second, I was good at it. I could tell not just by the marks I would get, but by how my pieces were received by my peers, and most especially by how I felt about them. I enjoyed every aspect of their creation, and reveled in their consumption.
I think the best example of this was with my profile. I didn’t write about anyone famous. A fellow I knew, who was a street performer and motivational speaker. He also happened to be going through a major crisis of faith and tragic divorce (most divorces are). I wrote the first paragraph and I knew it was powerful. It was something that couldn’t have been written in print, and would have been cheapened on camera. I loved it.
I still think broadcast is a possibility for me. Recently I’ve discovered talents in that area that have almost persuaded me to go in that direction- ask Jagg, I’m not just bragging. But, in the end, I think magazine will be filled with more constant enjoyment than broadcast- except for maybe radio, which to me is like the broadcast’s old-school version of magazine. Because I want my schooling to be fun, both marks wise and activity wise, I am sticking with magazine. It’s the type of journalism I’ve loved the longest, even if I didn’t realize it. Like a high school sweetheart.
I secured an internship with Opulence magazine in Calgary this summer. It used to be called Calgary Living, but apparently it got a raise. I’m excited. I hope that it won’t be disillusioning; that I’ll come back in the fall eager to begin my studies in the magazine stream, with experience, insight and bid dreams. And of course, small hands.
Almost everything about that has changed in the past year, except sadly the size of my hands. Originally, I had thought that I would, as implied, venture into the broadcast stream, and whether ironically or not, inform Canadians via television. I don’t know if my dreams are less lofty now, but they are hopefully more realistic. I want to write for magazines. The great thing is this excites me just the same.
Thinking back, it’s odd that I would have been so eager for broadcast coming in to Ryerson. Sure, I watched the news, but I took my greatest pleasure from reading magazines. I loved GQ, Esquire, Details, Mclean’s, and Toro. I would watch television news because it was on, almost passively. But I would seek out magazines. And not just because of the possibility of seeing a pretty girl amidst the articles. I liked that feature length articles seemed to have personality, depth, and answers. Magazines somehow achieved the oft sought after balance between fun and informative. And they did it subtly. So subtly that I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be a part of magazine creation until I got to practice it.
This year, assignment after assignment in my feature class would come and I wouldn’t stress in the least. I would worry. I actually enjoyed it. I think there are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, it was liberating. I could write longer sentences, be flashier, more literary. I could have the style that I struggled, joyfully, to suppress in print. And second, I was good at it. I could tell not just by the marks I would get, but by how my pieces were received by my peers, and most especially by how I felt about them. I enjoyed every aspect of their creation, and reveled in their consumption.
I think the best example of this was with my profile. I didn’t write about anyone famous. A fellow I knew, who was a street performer and motivational speaker. He also happened to be going through a major crisis of faith and tragic divorce (most divorces are). I wrote the first paragraph and I knew it was powerful. It was something that couldn’t have been written in print, and would have been cheapened on camera. I loved it.
I still think broadcast is a possibility for me. Recently I’ve discovered talents in that area that have almost persuaded me to go in that direction- ask Jagg, I’m not just bragging. But, in the end, I think magazine will be filled with more constant enjoyment than broadcast- except for maybe radio, which to me is like the broadcast’s old-school version of magazine. Because I want my schooling to be fun, both marks wise and activity wise, I am sticking with magazine. It’s the type of journalism I’ve loved the longest, even if I didn’t realize it. Like a high school sweetheart.
I secured an internship with Opulence magazine in Calgary this summer. It used to be called Calgary Living, but apparently it got a raise. I’m excited. I hope that it won’t be disillusioning; that I’ll come back in the fall eager to begin my studies in the magazine stream, with experience, insight and bid dreams. And of course, small hands.
