My Journalism class: Telling LA's Story

Here is an assignment from my journalism class, it asked me about "my LA" and seeing as I don't have a car, I spend most of my time on campus and this is what I have come up with...

Though the sidewalk matches the sky, the lights ahead of you make it seem like the greyness was put there on purpose, like it has to be that exact color so that the lights stand out more.  And although most stop to gripe about the Los Angeles smog and dirty air, it is the days that are free from those negative aspects that make one appreciate the city even more.  From the top of the bluff you feel almost omniscient, like you can choose whether or not to stay perched above it all, or take the leap down to Santa Monica, on to the 405 freeway and into Hollywood.  A bluff is defined as a hill characterized by a steep face.  Though our steep face happens to adorn the letters “LMU”, it really acts as our eyes to the city.  It can grant you access to the emotions of the city dwellers below you.  The Santa Monica fires poured dust onto the city leaving a viewer with little to see but the tops of buildings and perhaps burning brush in the distance.  But after an unexpected rainfall the bluff gives you a chance to see a cleaner, refreshed and inviting Los Angeles.  The graffiti on the freeway seems faded from the wetness, the buildings sparkle with a “just cleaned” excuberance, and the Angelinos emerge and resume their “normal” driving habits. 

The bluff is a special piece of Los Angeles.  It is a place for those unsure of the city to wade in before taking the plunge.  Runners often describe it as an optimal trail that makes you forget you are even excercising.  Stressed students huddle together with coffee and cigarettes discussing everything from philosophy to the attractice female across the hall.  The bluff can play Cupid for some couples; a spot to pop the question to your significant other when perhaps it is difficult to think of just one Los Angeles landmark that characterizes the relationship.  Why not choose the bluff? It overlooks all of Los Angeles, not isolating a single space but instead, conjoins the skateboarders of Venice with the hipsters of the Hollywood Hills.

My L.A. has not necessarily taken me beyond the bluff as others might have tapped into, but it has still given me the opportunity to reflect on the city.  As a freshman I got up every morning to work, and fortunately my work required me to make a round of the university in a vehicle that gave me the ability to stop and look out over the “face of LMU”.  Since that year I have not once driven around Ignatian Circle and kept a straight gaze.  LMU has done many things for me, but the one thing that I covet the most is the ability to see the city from my classroom, from my walk in between residence halls, or the dash across the University Hall Bridge to my evening class.  The bluff is my daily weather report, if I can see the the ocean to my left and a toy version of downtown straight ahead I know it is going to be a beautiful day.  And even when the sky does match the grey cement and the smog does cloud my vision, I still catch a breeze from the ocean and take a seat on the bench provided, just to appreciate what I see in front of me.    

Picture from: WebShots 

My Personal Statement

below is my personal statement. I started this earlier this afternoon and with the help of my roommate, Christine, have revised it a few times. I would love to hear your feedback so please read and tell me what you liked and/or didn't like, this will really help me! thank you!

Newsworthy.  I have come to see this word as one of the most important, all encompassing combination of vowels and consonants to a journalist. It is a game of cat and mouse, this process of finding a news story and making it your own, but it is also a true test of ones motivation and determination.  For where would journalists like Woodward and Bernstein be today if they had not overcome the obstacles and followed their heads which led them to crack one of the most famous scandals in political history? I can confidently say that I too, possess the determination, creativity, and perseverance as a graduating senior from Loyola Marymount University. I currently am part of a program on campus that allows me to live and work with 23 other people, students that have been handpicked due to an outstanding work ethic and commitment to a higher education.  So committed in fact, that they are willing to work over 40 hours a week just so that they can pay their tuition. I find this simple collection of 24 college kids newsworthy.  Why?  It is unusual, for there is nothing like it on any other campus in the country.  It has an emotional weight to it, for every single person in this work program has a story.  Some come from single parent households where a Jesuit education would have never crossed their minds, others are first generation college students with hopes of graduating a $53,000 a year university debt free.  This is newsworthy because in the end it holds a certain value.  Our country is trying to climb out of an economic slump and every year families find themselves in a financial struggle when their son or daughter makes the monumental decision to attend college.  These are the types of stories that draw a reader in, that will jump out whether the story runs on the nightly news as a family sits down for dinner or is featured online, a popular and convenient source of news for those on the go. As a writer in this age of “new media” I seek to not only inform readers but also to leave them with a new perspective, a new knowledge that they did not possess before they began reading. My education thus far has allowed me to realize that a good journalist might collect data and then write their story but a great journalist is one who transforms their work into a piece of writing that goes beyond just the facts.  John Donne described “affliction [as] a treasure”, by utilizing that same perspective I can seek to find the compassion and inherent value that each story possesses.  If admitted, I plan on utilizing my time at the Cronkite School to expand those abilities and create pieces that will impact those who read them.