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tribune january 20 1988 c1i its a rough journey to journalism well ive filially done it as of january 14 ive been a full- fledged working journalist for the grand total of one year now some of you may scoff youve only been working for a year you havent even scratched the surface on the real world yet but let me tell you its an accom plishment i never thought id reach first of all i never really in tended on being a journalist in the first place when i originally thought about continuing my education i always pictured myself in the creative advertising field however leaving things to the last moment as some people have been known to accuse me of that particular field had already been filled to capacity at my chosen col lege- but after talking to the campus registration office and explaining to them why i chose advertising in the first place they decided my par ticular qualities of expertise would be better suited towards jour nalism sounded like a good idea to me having always considered myself to be a fairly decent writer you can well imagine my dismay when the program coordinator john lott in formed my entire class not one of dimensions us was accomplished enough to con sider ourselves writers at all back to the basics although the first year saw over 50 per cent of my class drop out for one reason or another i toughed it out perhaps it stemmed from the fact i always disliked high school and wanted to give this new environ ment a chance or perhaps it was my mother standing over me saying if you even think about it year two was almost my undoing on the first day of the new semes ter in january i happened to look at my class schedule and saw written in bold letters creative interview ing even the way it was written on the page spelled doom for me didnt you know you had to con duct two interviews in front of the whole class said one third year senior trust me its really scary stuff no kidding this is the person who always developed a classic case of the flu every time i was required to take part in public speaking at high school i just couldnt do it my knees turned to mush my heart started racing and i talked so fast my speech was always over before any of my classmates had even sat down im leaving john i just cant face speaking in front of the whole class or no youre not was his answer youre going to get up there and do it just like everyone else would you believe i got an a on both assignments i still cant next came the practical side of the course working as a real repor ter on the east york observer a paper put out by my class but in no way affiliated with the college there are definite advantages to being thin you can always hide be hind someone when assignments are being given out and i always had the best ex cuses well i called john but he wasnt home so ileft a message with his wife when he didnt return my call i tried him again but this time he was in the shower and leav ing for africa as soon as he got out then when i finally did reach him he said he didnt know anything ab out it and id have to try another department head during the entire year i was in volved with the observer my classmates and i worked out of a downstairs office that was con nected to johns by a phone we used to call it the voice of doom when it rang we always knew someone was in trouble do it again became my three most hated words then when i finally found out i was to do my last semesters place ment at the tribune i had mixed emotions i knew no one could possibly be as demanding as john lott yet i knew nothing about jim thomas and still didnt know if i had what it took to survive in the world of journalism jim quickly put my fears to rest always quick with a compliment or a helpful word of criticism he saw to it not only was my placement an enjoyable experience but he showed me journalism was some thing to be enjoyed not feared i havent had a moments regret since then sure ive had the odd sarcastic barb along with some less than positive comments regarding a few of my articles but you cant please everyone and ive gonefrom a person who was lucky to write a two inch brief in a week to one who now writes on the average eight to 10 15 inch features in the same time span although im now long past those three years of college having work ed freelance and then been em ployed full time it wasnt until a short while ago i saw john again he had only eight short words to say to me why couldnt you have done that in school handyman w mcdonald painting decorating exterior interior renovations drywali taping and carpentry tree estimates 6406548 no job too large or too small ken smurthwaite heating ltd air conditioning duct work custom sheet metal stouftville 6401428 electrical jobs new additions renovations rec rooms no job too small patrick 6403700 maynard cabinets custom furnishings wall units desks etc fred 6403441 h helmuts 1reisch f8 joseph st lllarkham onl up 2n5 painting carpentry home improvements ss- dfmd b0rkey painting and 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