Walking fortune cookies

Okay, so I said I was going to update you all yesterday about my presentation. Sorry, was tired and had a bunch of errands. Plus, it was movie night with wifey, so any correspondence was put on hold for the night. Sue me.

Anyway, Saturday's journalism conference for college students went well enough, despite having to find an overhead projector in a last-minute rabbit run. We'd been told that maybe 40 students would show up for our 50-minute session about breaking into the news business.

I stopped counting the crowd at 80.

I didn't stumble and bumble my way through my part of the presentation (mercifully at the beginning) as much as I thought I would of. I think I answered questions in a thoughtful and friendly manner. I even had a couple people come up to me afterwards to ask for advice which, I'm sure you could imagine, was a huge thrill. I pray I gave them rational offerings. I haven't spent that much time as an oracle, ya know.

In the end I think the kids were a little disappointed. You could see it in their eyes as the clock ticked down: They weren’t going to get one all-purpose Holy Writ about finding a job in this market. And if they did leave disappointed, they missed out on my biggest piece of advice: Listen to what people are saying, or not saying.

We were giving tips, and it all boils down to getting as much practical experience on your college campus as you can and then the rigorous, gut-wrenching obstacle course of applying for and getting the job or internship. Look, we can't help you when you go in for the interview, when you write your student newspaper articles, what classes you are going to take, or what to do on the job. We can only tell you what we did wrong and how we would have changed things. Our wisdom comes from screwing up and, like a good parents, we are going to sit you on our knees and tell you important life lessons, not the solution to the puzzle.

So, if you came Saturday and were disappointed, consider that your first lesson as a professional journalist. Nothing is perfectly laid out. Sometimes, when you gather facts (to roughly paraphrase the Rolling Stones), you don't get everything you want, but you get what you need for the next step.

Today's Word: Drawer

From One Word

Small pockets of furniture where ideas and socks go to hide from sunlight and second thoughts.