Sitting, scrolling, flipping, all the stories. Stories are how we connect with humanity. Without stories, we are like birds, flying across the sky leaving no trace, forgotten. Most of the stories we tell are simply recounts of what happened. These are stories that have already been created. So what about the people who write the stories? The ones that don’t just recount them, but create them. The burden that accompanies writing the stories, recording history, keeping the stories alive is something that only a writer would understand. It all begins with what to write about, what story I will tell. What, if I die tomorrow, does the world need to hear from me. What do I love enough to convey emotion through the page to the reader? But to do that you know your audience must feel a hint of that passion themselves. 

The world of journalism is a war of words. The writer enters the war aware that whatever they say, someone will fight back, but they do it hoping to touch that one reader. The writer knows the reader’s time is precious and needs to create a story that is more than just a story, but something valuable and worthwhile. As everyone knows, the press has a defining influence on society and changes the path society follows. That leaves me to wonder, is the status of a journalist evaluated enough? A journalist should prove their desire to aid society, not make it more confusing and contentious. The role of a journalist is beyond the words on a page, but to form the minds of readers. Is it fair that these individuals have so much power over our communities? This weight that the journalist holds is a solemn responsibility to represent the nation to its citizens and the world. While to many, the stories we read, the articles we flip through, they are just stories on a page, but these words inspire us and change us, creating the stories that will be told for generations to come. In this sense, journalism defines the future and the past. 

So to all those who will or who are writing in the form of a journalist, take this role seriously. It is an art that stretches boundaries. Every time you read a story, understand the weight the writer felt in expressing their beliefs. This world is too fragile to not be upheld by deceiving stories. The art of a story is to strengthen, inform, uplift and change. A bird that parts the clouds, allowing the sun to shine through.