My two years at Olivet College have provided me with moments best described as good, bad and ugly. I presume that it is safe to say that this is a rather common assessment and that my experience may not be all that different from many other students. At any rate, regardless of whether an experience is good, bad, ugly or even a strange mixture of two or more, I have found reason to view them as experiences meant for my betterment, both as a student and as a man.
The "good" is relatively easy to point out. I have spent two years working towards establishing myself as a reliable source of news and commentary, both on campus and the Internet. My YouTube has come along quite well, and I am seeing an ever-increasing number of people interested in what I have to say on current events. I am regularly complimented on the visual aspects of my video production. This is particularly satisfying given the fact that I have dedicated vast amounts of time and energy into better choreographing the pictures to match the topics under discussion.
I have also put a decent amount of time into my Web site. I have spent years working with various blogs, attempting to determine which is best for me. In the past I have stuck with layouts that were full of color, catching the eye, but leaving much to ask in the way of space for text.
This trend changed with the advent of The Paleocrat Tribune. The decision was to keep it simple. It is black and white, allowing color pictures and videos to really stand out from the rest of the page. Best of all is the vast amount of room for text, links, categories, tags, and comments. All of this has created a site that is both stylish and professional.
The "bad" aspects of my time at Olivet are also easy to identify. This may be true on account of the fact that problems have trailed me every step of the way. Whether it is making it to class on time, turning projects in on their due date, or even making good on promises to do one thing or another for a teacher or a classmate.
As much as I may wish to pawn this off on my having to travel 30 minutes to school everyday, I would never dare use that same line of reasoning in attempt to justify tardiness to a place of vocation.
The "ugly" elements of my life as a student are certainly the hardest for me to face. These things may not be as numerous (Thank God!), but they are extremely important. I have found myself not taking my future as serious as I ought. Pursuing internships, jobs, and contacts has taken backseat to temporary satisfaction with the status quo. Where I should be working on a diverse selection of clips, I have ignored the need to work diligently on traditional news stories. Instead, I have willfully restricted myself to opinion columns and Web logs. As fun and as easy as these may be, it is not necessarily helping form me into a top-notch journalist. The basic, the most fundamental elements of the craft have fallen to the cutting room floor, and I can only hope that it will not come back to haunt me.
In conclusion, glancing over my shoulder at the two years I have spent at Olivet College has shown me a picture made up of events best described as good, bad, and ugly. While I do not believe it possible to fully eradicate the bad and the ugly, I must begin, and begin as soon as possible, to minimize those things that would fall within those two rather unfortunate categories.
The "good" is relatively easy to point out. I have spent two years working towards establishing myself as a reliable source of news and commentary, both on campus and the Internet. My YouTube has come along quite well, and I am seeing an ever-increasing number of people interested in what I have to say on current events. I am regularly complimented on the visual aspects of my video production. This is particularly satisfying given the fact that I have dedicated vast amounts of time and energy into better choreographing the pictures to match the topics under discussion.
I have also put a decent amount of time into my Web site. I have spent years working with various blogs, attempting to determine which is best for me. In the past I have stuck with layouts that were full of color, catching the eye, but leaving much to ask in the way of space for text.
This trend changed with the advent of The Paleocrat Tribune. The decision was to keep it simple. It is black and white, allowing color pictures and videos to really stand out from the rest of the page. Best of all is the vast amount of room for text, links, categories, tags, and comments. All of this has created a site that is both stylish and professional.
The "bad" aspects of my time at Olivet are also easy to identify. This may be true on account of the fact that problems have trailed me every step of the way. Whether it is making it to class on time, turning projects in on their due date, or even making good on promises to do one thing or another for a teacher or a classmate.
As much as I may wish to pawn this off on my having to travel 30 minutes to school everyday, I would never dare use that same line of reasoning in attempt to justify tardiness to a place of vocation.
The "ugly" elements of my life as a student are certainly the hardest for me to face. These things may not be as numerous (Thank God!), but they are extremely important. I have found myself not taking my future as serious as I ought. Pursuing internships, jobs, and contacts has taken backseat to temporary satisfaction with the status quo. Where I should be working on a diverse selection of clips, I have ignored the need to work diligently on traditional news stories. Instead, I have willfully restricted myself to opinion columns and Web logs. As fun and as easy as these may be, it is not necessarily helping form me into a top-notch journalist. The basic, the most fundamental elements of the craft have fallen to the cutting room floor, and I can only hope that it will not come back to haunt me.
In conclusion, glancing over my shoulder at the two years I have spent at Olivet College has shown me a picture made up of events best described as good, bad, and ugly. While I do not believe it possible to fully eradicate the bad and the ugly, I must begin, and begin as soon as possible, to minimize those things that would fall within those two rather unfortunate categories.
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