Free therapy

If I sum up this day in one word, the word would be "awakening." My appreciation for journalism awakened today for the first time in a month. I feel like everything that happened today renewed my spirit for journalism.

One of the most profound things I heard today came from Mary Ann Hogan, our career coach. In our last session, she had us sit in a circle and confess our fears. Everyone has the same fears. We all fear the pressure of deadlines, fast-paced newsrooms and expectations, etc. My fear, of course, is not living up to the expectations of my editors and to my own expectations.

Mary Ann said that everything she heard fits into three categories: Who, what and how. She told us that we can’t change who we are, what we do will constantly change and the only control we have is how we conduct ourselves. Just get over who you are, she said.

Let me just say that I got a free therapy session! Mary Ann is right. I’m young and very green. I accept that now. I don’t know everything, but I will learn.

Robbie Morganfield of the Diversity Institute also was at the session. He said we need to take our jobs seriously but also enjoy them. I need to start doing that again. The only expectations that are super high are my own. So, I’m getting the monkey off my back! He also said every day is a new day to learn, and I'm also going to do that.

This morning John Seigenthaler, the founder of the First Amendment Center, spoke to us about the First Amendment and how it’s taken for granted. John is an interesting guy. He has so much passion for history and journalism. He put us in teams, and we had to answer questions about the First Amendment. I was team captain. Brian Aguilar and Craig Henry were on my team. We tied for second. But I just want to say that I have a minor in Balkan and Eastern European history until 1918. My American history facts are rough, and I’m going to refresh them when I get home.

Earlier today, Mark Silverman (of The Tennessean, Nashville), (Career Coach) Colleen Fitzpatrick and Meg Downey (of The Tennessean) spoke to us about charting our career path. Mark said that “we need to understand what we don’t know and what we need to learn”--personally and professionally. Amen. How therapeutic.

-- Alexandria Burris, reporter, Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, La., and Louisiana State University