Definition of a journalist:
1 a : a person engaged in journalism especially : a writer or editor for a news medium b : a writer who aims at a mass audience.
2 : a person who keeps a journal. |
 |
I started out, many moons ago, to be a journalist ( 1). Way back in the ‘dark ages’ …I headed to the big city of Toronto, 17 years young and green as the Prairie’s early spring wheat.
What an experience it all was! To walk along Yonge Street (wow, skyscrapers!!) apparently the longest street in North America and probably the most famous in Canada. Being so far from home, being on my own for the first time, especially coming from a very small city by comparison, was heady stuff indeed. Happily it is all still there in my memory to savor, and it all comes back to me now. A good time in my life.
Life has taken many twists and turns since my days at Ryerson. Writing has always been a part of my life, sometimes more, sometimes too little, since my first trek to Toronto. Many places, loves and losses have come and gone. But what always remains, and what this blog again brings to mind, is my love for writing and for reading. And for the sheer joy of playing with a phrase or finding the perfect word (and that certainly doesn’t always happen) .
Just recently re-read: On Writing, by Stephen King and it continues to be one of my favorite books. Crammed full of insights into the man and his craft and gems of wisdom for his readers to utilize in writing and life in general.
Stephen has certainly taken a long and winding road to get to his place in the world today. But rich or poor, famous or not, the craft of writing is in the blood of all writers. It is there always, whether we are inspired or not and whether we are writing or not. But when it all comes together, it truly is magic.
To create more than we thought we had to give or to express. I am grateful to be a journalist ( 2) and a paid writer (albeit part-time) and glad to be writing this story.
On this cold and windy Prairie night, it feels like the right place to be.
PS: I wrote this story a couple of years ago and happened upon it recently, going through some of my archive posts over at Veggies…
Thought it might be of interest to some of my MPP readers.
Perhaps it will in turn inspire you to share some of your own writing experiences and memories. I look forward to reading them.
Recent Comments