Read broadly

More advice from a professor...what a gift books are. I've gotten the chance to sort of rediscover my love for reading again this quarter, with a wonderful English class on narratives of bondage and freedom and the chance to attend a national bookfair and writers' conference. Once again, the world seems to be an oyster!

I had a chance to reconnect with this professor recently after several months. What is most crazy to me is his insatiable love for learning. He is constantly looking for new things to read and watch to expand his understanding of the world. I think if I was ever to become a professor I'd like to be like him - always curious. Feeling inspired to read, watch, and research broadly -- to follow my curiosity to new places and not get boxed into one path.

And the idea of following one's curiosity feels like a good way to sum up this quarter! I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to write this piece about the story of the 1936 Boys in the Boat, the UW rowing team that won gold at the Berlin Olympics and shared a very special bond with each other. I got to see the inside of the ASUW Shell House right by the waterfront on campus for that story for a tour with Nicole, the manager leading the project to restore the Shell House building, and it was just a gorgeous day with the sun shining through the tall windows across the floor and the waves sparkling. And then just the inspiring message from the story of the rowing team, which came together during the extremely difficult years of the Great Depression. It's just a beautiful story. I can't wait to watch the movie that's coming out based on the original narrative. I also started an ad hoc Honors project in my English 327 class comparing the narratives of enslaved women under the Atlantic slave trade with those under the Japanese imperial military around WWII. It has been the most meaningful reading I've encountered in a long time.

In terms of future plans, I'm slowly moving away from wanting to teach English in South Korea. After returning from study abroad, I'm realizing that traveling the world is wonderful and such a great experience but also not exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life as a foreign correspondent because I'd simply miss my family and home too much. I also don't think that teaching is my strength or passion, at least right now. I tend to trip over my words a lot and I get nervous speaking in front of people, and find it difficult to articulate my words sometimes. My professor said the best teachers make it look easy, and I think that's definitely true.

What I think is more important to me is finding a community and digging deep into it, finding its stories and meeting its people. I'd like to do on-the-ground reporting in a small town and get to know the people in it and what problems need to be fixed. I'd like to use my stories as a mouthpiece for those voices that might not get heard otherwise and to help humanize issues that people need to know about. I don't want to use journalism as a tool to get my name out there or to put people down, even if they're celebrities and public figures (unless it's an issue of investigative journalism to keep our government officials rightfully accountable, in which case I'd still like to write fairly and respectfully). I think I remember reading in one of the SPJ newsletters that journalists need to be humans first, and I never want to forget that. Even though journalists and reporters sometimes get a reputation for being aggressive or insensitive or biased, I pray that my work and career can only be a force for good in others' lives. May the Lord guide the journey!

It might be worth it to look into applying for Fulbright or Princeton in Asia. I think rather than teach English abroad, I'd want to find a way to work for an organization that lets me tell stories and dig into local communities. And also a side note about this - I think local community journalism is just super meaningful. When you actually take the time to understand and listen to local people, rather than make assumptions about the situation due to being an outsider who just recently arrived, I feel that stories can be deeper and more impactful. Which ties into the idea of cultural imperialism -- this idea that you can impose your culture on another. In my JSIS 201 class, this was another related issue -- not understanding local dynamics and thus making poor political decisions, e.g. during the Cold War. If you think about it, understanding other people is so important. And that's why I think stories and literature can be so powerful, because they give people an entry into experiences they might never have had, let them live it vicariously and enter into the emotions and thoughts associated with them. And that can spur them onto action for good. Would working for a nonprofit be meaningful in this way? Maybe covering stories for a Christian missions organization and writing about what God is doing around the world? Things to ponder and pray about!

I have been receiving a lot of encouragement lately from others in my life - professors, friends, family. I've been so blessed by this in a quarter where my workload has been really overwhelming and I've had some struggles with waiting upon God and being content with where I am relationally. Praise to the Giver of all good things!