Slow but content week

I think I've finally settled into things--just in time for me to leave, right? Got to love it.

But really, I've gotten past the major jitters of D.C. life, I've made my couple mistakes, I've shown the boss what I can do--I feel more and more like I can just be myself. Relieving to say the least.

I'm not a workaholic. I'm not obsessed with success. These are things that I sometimes emulate because of outside converted into internal pressure, but they aren't me.

Me. I'm a laid back guy. I don't get stressed out too easily, and I enjoy playing a good video game. I like the work I do, always seek excellence, but it does not take over my life.

Who I was at the beginning of the semester was a bugged out version of myself. And, honestly, I'm not sure how it could have been any other way. New town, new job, new friends, freezing weather. I was totally out of my element, and was expecting myself to astoud everyone with my journalistic prowesss. I like to think I'm good, but I'm not Superman!

It's been nice to be okay with having a slow couple weeks. These past two weeks for me have been relatively slow, but I'm not too worried. I've been working on some quality feature pieces that I'm quite proud of, and they all will be running within the next two weeks.

I hate comparing myself to my peers. I want to just be okay with my own progress and my own niche. I've felt like I have settled into that more, though I still am fighting it to some extent--which is good, I admit, as a journalist needs a competitve edge.

A story I worked on today was a clear display from God, I think, that this career won't be a total waste for my spiritual life. I got to interview an 88 year old woman who has been attending a Catholic church right next to the new staduim where the pope will be speaking in two weeks. Hearing from her was encouraging, even in a kind of formal interview setting. I didn't flat out tell the woman and her priest I was a Christian, but I think enough of my questions and responses indicated as much.

I'm discovering more and more those are the types of stories I like to tell. Stories about people. Hard news is helpful, I can write a good hard news story. But I am an even better writer of feature pieces, which really capture the essence of a human being. And they are much funner for me to write.

Keep me in your prayer. I got a big ole' term paper to write in the next two weeks, on top of my internship. I also am still clueless on where I am going to be for the summer. Let me know if you hear anything about jobs, too. I'm looking at an internship in Washington (state), but haven't heard back from them since they said a month ago that they were "keeping me in mind." I also am trying to see if Catering at Biola will hire me for the summer. If I was able to do that, I could also look into doing some freelance for the Orange County Register.

I don't knows....

--mjf