I'm going to talk about newspapers again

5. Visit Old Ephraim's Grave
6. Get an SPJ award ✔
7. Obtain True Aggie Status


I'll be truthful. Even though I tried to make my college bucket list at least a little realistic I figured there were some things that probably wouldn't happen. For example, given my recent experience with bad buffets I may never get Midnight Pizza at the Junction. At least not without a Walmart store worth of Pepto Bismol on hand. Getting an SPJ award  was one of those things I figured COULD happen, if I decided to write something semi-decent in  the next 3 years. A.k.a if it wasn't snowing in Logan (bahahaha!), the Gilmore Girls were not distracting me, and I wasn't trying to do something silly like succeed in school. 


So, March rolled around and I got an about the email about the awards. I could only enter articles that I had written in 2010, which left me with about 15 articles that were so boring that I probably fell asleep writing them. Not being one to give up an opportunity however, I did enter an article I wrote in fall It was a story about a woman dealing with her autistic son. Oh yes. And how she wrote a book about it. Despite my mediocre writing, this woman had a very touching story and it was one of the best interviews I did all year.  


Pick up the remote and fast forward to June. I am both shocked and slightly perturbed to find my name on the finalists list. Seriously? What are these people thinking? Did somebody threaten to take away their AP stylebooks if  I wasn't a nominee? I quickly go from shocked to happy, because really. These are big people. Who I will someday work for. Hopefully.  


I didn't shell out $40 to go to the ceremony, partially because that's a two weeks worth of tortillas and black beans (pretty much what I'm living off of) and also because I had a hot date at the Brigham Young Park.  


When I log onto Facebook later, I have like a million (or three) messages congratulating me. I guess I took 1st in Division C Medical/Science reporting.


Hello? I am not a scientist. Or a doctor. That's why I'm getting a degree in print journalism a.k.a "a degree to nowhere". Plus, I like to write about people strumming guitars and feeding the homeless and sometimes puppies. Use the word blood and I WILL get dizzy.

Despite this, I am so grateful.All those wee hours of the morning with my Dr. Pepper in one hand and a pencil in the other really did pay off. Things like this convince me that maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to NOT work in a call center someday.   


Hey, I'm a winner. And also, The Statesman is a winner because we are took 2nd place overall for our division. I work with some seriously talented people. 


And now I'm thinking about pizza...