What not to do...

Don't we all just some times feel like this is all we're doing in the world? As budding journalism students, we need to make sure to remind ourselves that "No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world." - Frances Willard.

Where is the love?

Why can't the field of journalism deal with issues of the heart? Is it too subjective? Not appealing enough? Has the subject of love gotten so cliché that it is somehow a taboo for me to write about it in a journalism blog? Well if it is- too bad, because I simply cannot keep this in any longer.

You can consider me a hopeless romantic. I believe in true love and am not afraid to admit it. I fantasise about the day I get to grow old with that one person, and am tired of being criticised for it.

The stare I receive from society that insults my intelligence, by diagnosing me with some form of naive abnormality for believing in commitment, tears at me every day. How can anyone believe that the "one night stands", "cheating is acceptable" and "marriage is jail" ideology society has somehow developed in the last few decades, could bring real happiness?

Is it not logical to think that the false ideas of love and the flexibility of social mores in society has something to do with the rising statistics on divorce?

How could something so pure and extraordinary, become so polluted? Commitment has somehow become the little, but very evident, piece of spinach everyone tries to avoid, that sneaks into the gaps of your two front teeth. It humiliates you, and fills you with shame, until you feel nothing but relief when you flick it out and throw it into the wind.

I may be alone in this, but I believe that life is nothing without love. So if my happiness means being an outcast and walking around with an entire vegetable garden between my teeth, I have nothing to say but, "Let's start sowing!"

Bon appatit...

In the world of journalism, interacting with people is nothing but key. This stretches from truly understanding a client's visions for their newest logo design, to needing to fluff up a celebrity's ego to ensure their sound participation in an upcoming interview.

I have about a year's worth of waiteressing experience behind my name by now. And let me tell you something, waiteressing is no different to the sometimes daunting requirements of producing solid journalistic works. Just last night I needed to flutter my eyelids, compliment, and pretend to care about stories, I quite frankly couldn't be bothered about, for the sake of building a relationship with my customer (and of course for a 'solid' tip.) I needed to grasp a comprehensive understanding of the 'feeding' needs of my customers and make sure to present them with dishes that would undoubtedly tantalise their expectant taste buds.

An important lesson that I have only recently come to realise, and you should realise as soon as possible, is that all aspects of your life, feed into the multiple facets of journalism. We, as journalism students, still have so much to learn about this all encompassing subject (we are reminded of that every day) yet opportunities constantly present themselves to us that provide us with the potential to acquire a new set of skills or level of understanding that could make the world of difference to the eminence of our work.

In order to be a successful journalist, we need to, quite frankly, open our eyes. Break the walls of your thinking and allow yourself to experience life on a whole new level. See the world as what it is to a journalist... a playground of endless opportunity.

Who you are as a journalist

I am a journalist student from Rhodes university. As a journalist we are thought how to right and report on stories so as a journalist i would like to be out doors and be able to go out and research stories and find stories that happen in our country and other countries. As a journalist i want to help people whose voices cannot be heard like people who are not in a well developed country, people who have no say in how their leaders should be rule the world they live in. So its our duty as journalists to report and make sure that their stories are heard. I want to report news from my country and other countries and see what other people go through and experience the way they live. I want to be an observer .I want to do hard news in a kind of a way. As a journalist i report about important stories. As a journalist i have to attend a lot of functions to experience and observe. I am a journalist who loves something that i do, to get stories i interview people and also do interviews. Be in the field of reporting. Voice peoples views and talking to people who saw what you are writing about.

Peeling away...

Pic: Anica Jansen van Vuuren

Those six little words...

As I quietly sat in the sparsely occupied journalism lecture, I waited patiently as I wondered what book the lecturer was going to read to us today. Noticing that no books were placed on the counter, I slowly grew suspicious of what was to come...

"Write a six word memoir in the next five minutes." she explained, as a hush slowly settled into the corners of the room. Our life story in six words? You're kidding, right? I sat perplexed. I felt exposed and naked in my inability to capture the essence of my life in those six words. This was amplified as all those around me almost instantaneously started writing at their mini autobiographies. Where do I even start? What do I focus on? How could six words possibly explain the complexities of my life? Every aspect of it, every experience, every hardship and every moment of glory has shaped me into the young woman that I am today. How do I discern which of those were more important than others?

I remembered a book that I read about a year or two ago that comforted me in my few moments of unease. It is called "Saturday" and was written by Ian McEwan. What struck me most about this book was that it was in its entirety (over 300 pages) devoted to intimately and meticulously describing every detail of a single day in a man's life, named Henry Perowne. Through this book Ian McEwan showed just how precious every moment of our lives are. He proved its worth. That it's worth remembering, worth telling, and definitely worth writing about. Yet, here I was, a year later, trying to sum up my life's story in merely six words.

Words have such importance and carry so much power within them. As journalists, we need to truly understand the value of life and consider the manner in which we portray the lives of the individuals whose stories we are telling. How can we as writers reduce an individual's entire life into a couple of pages, into an article, or even into six, measly, little words?

But here's my attempt. My six words...

Born to love...passionately, truly, unconditionally.

Who am I?

Alright, so here we are...you're sitting at your computer, maybe with a cup of something hot on the desk beside to you, wondering what to do with this blog. Should you become a follower? Or should you quickly click by and roam around the web to find another one of the millions of blogs out there in the hopes of replacing this one?

I recently heard that what you get out of journalism deeply reflects what you as an individual bring to it. So let me make the decision for you and ignite our relationship by telling you a bit about who I am and what I hope to bring to the journalistic realm.

To put it simply..."My name is Jansen van Vuuren...Anica Jansen van Vuuren"...(doesn't quite work with my name does it? ha ha) I am ambitious -a perfectionist (one could say), I'm hardworking and a full-out hopeless romantic. I have stared some of life's horrors straight the eye and have still managed to come out on top. I am dramatic, opinionated, arty, but more importantly I am passionate, creative and quite frankly put my heart and soul in to everything that I do.

The way I view the world is rather unique in its own respect. When I walk outside I see the world as a potential for a masterpiece. I see compositions, colours and textures that could be woven into the most beautiful images and designs. For me an old barren tree, some flowers, and maybe a dirt road craft the lines, shades and components of a fantastic photo landscape. I don't see a pair of simple beaded earings but rather an opportunity of an intricate yet dazzling macro photo or an exciting skeleton for a breathtaking design.

To me words are nothing but an aid to express true passion, and if used correctly it can truly change someone's life. I love the effect a beautiful image or a stunning piece of writing can have on someone's life. It is for this reason that I am here. I want to help you. I want to discover with you, entertain you, share with you and hopefully along the line give you something you will never forget.

Life as a journalism student is exiting and creates an opportunity for so much discovery. Although I don't claim to know everything and am uncovering the life of journalism with you, I can only hope that you will also share all that you can with me. Each author in this blog will focus on an aspect of journalism that they are truly passionate about. This will create a well rounded journalistic blog that you just simply won't be able to replace.
So...decision made?