State of my J-Skills
“It’s progress no matter how little.” But is it? Is it considered progress when I lag behind my competitors? Is it still considered progress when I cannot compete with others other than myself?
For this entry, I will be discussing my journalism skills, perceived level, and expectations for the Exposure Training in partial fulfillment for my class Broadcasting Principles and Practices, where we visit a nearby radio or TV station.
Journalism is the activity or profession of writing for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or preparing news to be broadcast (Oxford Languages).
To let you know about my skills and perceived skill level, let me start by stating that I still find it hard to articulate, explain and understand some subject-verb agreements’ rules. Who finds it easy anyway? Some find it easy, but I am not them. I have been writing and speaking according to how I read, watched, and listened to English sources. So, I do recognize when something in English seems strange. Laying that experience down with rules is more challenging than just living with it.
As to my perceived level, with proper preparation and a little bit of constructive criticism, I can handle myself quite well. If I am sure I practiced enough for a presentation, have sufficient knowledge to elaborate further on the topic, and brave enough to stand on my own, I can do well. Though, I do wish I was more sensible in communicating with others. I think I should not be as shy when meeting and working with new people. I tend to distance myself and draw lines quickly, given that this habit causes misunderstandings sometimes.
A person cannot present anything without writing them all down first and reassessing their value and accuracy. So, I perceive my journalism skills and perceived level as average. They might be satisfactory to get me by during high school, but it may not be as impressive to land me a pat on the shoulder from a mentor or a job in the future.
On the other hand, our Exposure Training is near, and of course, I have expectations. First, I expect I will make some mistakes. After stepping inside a radio or TV station, there surely would be a culture and work ethic that is so alien to me that I may not be sensible to understand initially. Second, I expect they will at least let us try some of their equipment. Maybe let us do a segment if we are lucky. Third, surely there will be so many professionals, so I expect to be in awe of such professionalism. Being a student and reading about what I can do for others and myself is different from actually getting to do them.
In conclusion, my journalism skills and perceived level is average, while my expectations for Exposure Training are high.
I assessed myself and thought about how I should write about it. I am an individual that is part of a community. As an individual, the community expects me to act on my part and fulfill my roles. Luckily, society lets us choose what our parts can be. For me, I wanted to study Communication. So, I should conduct myself as a professional communicator one day. However, the community expects its students to complete the journey in a set period of time and perform well as expected.
I believe it is progress no matter how little; it is progress, even if I lag behind others. Most significantly, my biggest rival is myself. I am an individual who is part of a community. And I also expect that I shall do great things.
