Caffeine, ambition and journalism

Caffeine%2C+ambition+and+journalism

Raylyn Bowers, Blogger

Being normal was never something that I was good at. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, in fact my favorite quote says that being normal isn’t a virtue, it denotes a lack of courage.

Growing up, all I could think of was getting away from the Panhandle. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew me – and all of my family. I wanted to be independent. I wanted to get away from the things that held me down such as having my every move watched by the caring people in the community.

When I left to go to college, I had every intention of never coming back. I was a student at the University of Texas at Austin, and I planned to graduate from there and go on to do extraordinary things with my life. What I didn’t plan for was hating the major that I had chosen, struggling through 16 hours of science and math classes, and having to drive home every other weekend to sit with my family in the hospital.

I ended up leaving UT, coming home, changing my major, and moving in with my grandfather to help take care of him. I received my associate’s degree from Amarillo College in mass communications, a far cry from the chemistry degree I was working on at UT, and then enrolled at WT.

I have never been afraid of hard work. I knew that I lost my scholarships when I left UT, and I knew that I would have to work to get through school. I have worked at Barnes & Noble for two years. Most of these past two years, I was working approximately 30 hours a week while going to school full time. On June 4, 2015, I started a job at the Swisher County News, the newspaper located in Tulia, Texas. I am the only employee at this paper, which means a boatload of hard work.

My typical week starts Monday at 6 a.m. and doesn’t end until all the work is finished. I cover football games, volleyball games, City Council meetings, little league sports, school activities, 4-H activities, and any wrecks or crimes that happen in the county.

I am always tired. In fact, this past week, there was a night where I only got one hour of sleep before I had to get up to drive to school. I live off of caffeine, pure determination to succeed in college and my career, and my love for what I do.

I have had many people tell me that journalists must love what they do to put up with everything that comes along with the job. I can tell you right now, that if I didn’t love what I do, there would be no way that I would have continued doing it this long.

I love interviewing people, getting to know different people’s stories, and learning more about my small town community. The community that I once wanted to run far far away from has become my saving grace. These past couple of years have thrown me some curve balls, but I got through and am stronger for it. I now have a direction with my life, I know exactly what I want to work toward, and I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to run this newspaper.

I may not be perfect, and the newspaper needs a little work, but I can honestly say I am trying my best – even if I am living off of caffeine, new reporter ambition, and the pure determination to succeed.