Winding Down

The semester's quickly coming to a close and I'm really excited about it actually. I'm nervous about what I'm going to do after I graduate, but I will look back on this experience and be happy. I am glad that I ended up interning at WV Living, even though it wasn't a place I was comfortable with. The people are nice and the magazines that they publish are simply amazing and so much work goes into making one of them look like that.

I did find out recently that my Choosy Kids article isn't going to be published in their magazine. It's only going to be online and I'm upset about it. I mean, I'm happy that they put it up online and I'm happy that they're using it, but I was really excited about seeing my name in print and actually having something to show for my work there. When you think of a magazine, you think of the paper and the hand held feel of it, not the website. Most of all, I'm upset about Linda and the others at Choosy Kids not getting their story published in print. I'm sure that more people will see it seeing as it's on their website and easier to search for, but still. I'm just a little put out about it.

After my second sound blog, I've really just been mailing and copying and doing invoices. I'm actually quite comfortable with that kind of work and I loved helping Brittany out. She's hilarious and I really spent the majority of my time working with her. Today I did more mailing and I honestly had no time to sit and work on anything even if they had given me something other than mailing. We also had a bit of an ordeal with the low numbers of Spring 2012 of WV Living and I almost had to reopen all of the things I had packaged just to get out more magazines to keep in the office because they can't be below a certain number.

Another Sound Blog!

I was getting a little antsy and aggravated that I hadn't been given anything else to write. The whole purpose of this internship was to get experience on writing and editing, right? I kept asking Jill to give me something, even if it was just something small because I wanted more experience with writing and she finally gave me something. It's another sound blog and I'm just hoping that this one goes better than the last one did. I'm honestly crossing my fingers that when I call someone they'll actually pick up the phone and talk to me and give me something of substance to use in my post.

I actually did a lot of research for this sound blog because it was about the Marshall Artists Series (MAS) that is based at Marshall University. I did call someone and she answered the phone! I was so excited that she, Angela Jones, picked up and was talking with me. I was a bit nervous for this one because it was hard trying to find a lot of information on the series and also trying to figure out what questions to ask her. Laura had given me a few and I asked those, but I also threw in a few of my own just so I wasn't only asking her three questions that didn't need more than a sentence to answer them. Angela was very nice and we had a nice conversation and I ended up getting a lot of great quotes from her.

I also had to contact one of the founder's of Mountain Stage, where the MAS was performing, and he also gave me some great quotes and stories about each artist that was set to perform that night in honor of the MAS's 75th Anniversary.

Overall, I think this sound blog is much, much better than my first one and I am quite proud of it because I had a great time writing it and it was so much easier to write it once I got quotes to put in.

Spring Break!

While most people were probably gallivanting around a beach or even just lounging at home, I was basically camping out at the WV Living offices trying to rack up more and more hours so I can reach that 140 at the end of the semester. My entire week was incredibly hectic just with being at the office basically from open to close and then also having to go to work at Barnes & Noble on top of that and my school workload. This semester has been incredibly hectic for me and I just honestly hope that I pass because I really, really want to graduate and not have to take any more classes.

But, this week was actually a bit of an eye opener for me. At the beginning of this semester, I didn't really want to intern at WV Living because I want to publish and edit books, not magazines. I also wasn't comfortable with being thrown into that type of atmosphere where I have no background in it. I've never written from a journalism perspective and I think that it really showed when I handed in my first draft of my article. But, I got better with Laura's edits on it. I just wasn't comfortable... and I'm still not really. I'm just now getting used to it all because after having to write that article, it really showed me how much work goes into writing an article and how much work it is to make sure you have the write style of writing for the magazine.

That's what I was most scared of. Just being able to feel like I belonged there. I still don't feel like that though. I just feel like I'm here for a semester and then I'm gone. I'm really glad for this opportunity and I am glad that I'm working there, but I still feel uncomfortable about the entire thing.

The entire week, I did a whole lot of mailing and sorting and copying and dealt with invoices and various magazines. It was a nice break from writing and editing stories and it also gave me a chance to see what else goes into making a successful magazine run smoothly. Not many people know about the invoices and just how many magazines go out to the subscribers. It's insane.

Sound Blog

I know I just posted yesterday, but I felt like I could post a smaller post today and just talk about my Johnny Staats sound blog. I've been having a bit of trouble with it, just trying to get in contact with him has been an issue. Laura has graciously pushed back the deadline so I could have more time to get a 'fresh' quote from him. I would be so grateful if he called back or even emailed me back and just gave me one sentence that I could throw in there from him.

If he doesn't end up getting back to me, I do have something to fall back on, so that's good. I was searching his official website and I found his biography where there were quite a few quotes from him that I could use if I have to. I really don't want to but it just looks like that's where it's going with this one.

I'm not giving up hope though because I do think that he'll get back to me soon... well, hopefully.

Hours

So, this week I started going into the office on Thursday mornings to get more hours because I realized that I was incredibly behind and lacking on them. I think I got behind because I didn't secure the internship until after the semester had started. I had tried getting the internship sooner, but I think that going into the office on Thursdays now will help me bring up the hours to the proper amount that I need. I really hope I actually reach the 140 hours that I need. I may need to add going in on Fridays to get up that proper amount.

I'm still fixing up my Choosy Kids article and trying to add more to make it better than it was. I just hope that when I send it in, it's a good article. I'm aiming for good because then I still have room to grow with the magazine and with my own writing. I hope that it'll eventually be great and when it shows up in the magazine it'll be something I'm proud of. Right now, I'm not terribly proud of it because it's still not how I'd like it to be but it'll get there with time and effort on my part and I'm willing to put that in to make it a good article.

I'm still waiting on the phone call back from Johnny Staats. I've called him and emailed him and so far I've gotten nothing in return. I'm getting a tad angry because he hasn't so much as tried to get back to me and I really need a good quote from him for this sound blog. I would just love it if he returned my call or email and just speak to me for a few minutes. After looking things up about him, he seems like an interesting guy and I'd like to speak with him and ask him about his music, but until then, I'm stuck playing the waiting game.

Catching Up

I honestly swore to myself that I wouldn't get behind with this article or the sound blog post that I'm trying to do, but I've somehow managed to do that. It's my fault that I let it happen but I've also realized that it's incredibly hard to do any type of work when your laptop is continuously shutting off without warning. Thankfully, I now have a new laptop, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up with both stories.

I'm really focusing my time on the Choosy Kids article mainly because it's my first real assignment that will be published in a real magazine. The sound blog is something that I have no idea as to what to I'm supposed to do, much like the Choosy Kids article, but I'm asking Laura all of the questions that I have in the hopes that she'll be able to explain it to me so I'll be able to understand what I need to do.

I'm incredibly nervous about these two pieces and I just want them to be good when I write them. I'm worried that they won't be good enough and that I won't be good at writing in these types of forums and I don't want my choices to be limited when I graduate. Overall, I'm just incredibly nervous about this internship as it progresses.

Dr. Linda Carson Interview

I interviewed Dr. Carson twice. I called and spoke to her for about an hour over the phone and I also went to the Choosy Kids office and spoke with her for about an hour and a half. I found out that she knew my mother and used to work with her back in the day and she is a very nice lady. I enjoyed speaking with her and for it being only my second ever interview, I think they both went rather well. She was very easy to talk to and I didn't really have to think of questions before hand because she honestly answered every single question I needed to ask. I did end up thinking of questions throughout the interviews, but she really knew what I needed and wanted to hear from her about the company and what she does with the company.

I went to the Choosy Kids office on Wednesday February 15th at 3:30 pm. The office is located on Collins Ferry Rd. and it is easy to find actually. I'll admit that when I walked in I was incredibly shocked to see how professional the offices were. I was expecting to see something like a daycare center but they had individual office spaces for the workers, small cubicles for their interns, a break room, a conference room and various hallways that are decorated with Choosy and pictures of their various trips.

That was the first thing Linda asked me when she sat down with me in the conference room. She asked me if I was surprised to see what the offices looked like. And I told her that I was. She just smiled and said that most people were. I think it's honestly because everyone who does know about this company believes that it is a type of daycare/child's program. It's not. It is a legitimate company that is just trying to get off on it's feet and be recognized as a company that is focused on getting it's message of healthy choices and decisions out to all of the children so they don't grow up to have heart problems and have troubles with obesity.

I think that's basically what my story is going to be about. Just getting the word out to people in Morgantown that Choosy Kids is a company that wants to help the children learn about healthy alternatives that could ultimately save their lives.

Choosy Kids

So, I have my first article assignment. I am writing about Choosy Kids, which is a company based in West Virginia and was co-founded by Dr. Linda Carson. She worked at WVU from 1979-2009 when she retired and focused all of her energy on Choosy Kids. She had been working on Choosy Kids since she first started at WVU, but back then, it all started with KinderSkills and KinderSplash and other programs that she started and ran with the help of her students. The first KinderSkills class was in the spring semester of 1980 and it ran for a long time. I myself attended KinderSkills when I was around three or four years old. My mother worked in the Physical Education department with Linda and she took me and my sister to KinderSkills. I loved it and I know that these children at Head Start facilities all across the country love Choosy and love the programs that the company puts on.

Choosy Kids is a company... not a children's program like most people think it is. They go to Head Start facilities across the country and even to other countries and train teachers and children about oral health, nutrition and physical activity. They want to get children thinking about the healthy choices and alternatives they could be making and starting it when they're fairly young so it gets engrained in their heads so they grow up making the healthier decisions.

Choosy is the company's mascot. He doesn't have a story yet. It is left up to the child's imagination. He's green, furry, wears red Converse high tops, a backwards baseball cap and purple sunglasses. He is very much the face of the company and he helps teach the children about the proper and healthy ways they could be eating and living their lives. The children have a lot of theories about who/what Choosy is. Some say he's an alien from a healthy planet and he was sent to Earth to teach us. Others say that he is a bug who came up from underground to help us live healthier lives. Linda doesn't have a story for him yet and she doesn't know if she's going to think of one because the stories the children come up with are amusing and very, very creative.

Overall, I think this story on Choosy Kids will be very difficult to write mainly because I have never written a journalistic type of story and I'm worried that I won't have a good grasp on the style of the magazine. I'm just worried that it won't be good enough because I don't have any experience in this type of writing.

First Week Down

My first week at WV Living was an a real eye opener. I had no idea what to expect because I had never worked for a magazine or been in that type of environment. Now, to me, it seemed like a slow week, but everyone else kept referring to it as being busy. I guess it's just because I'm still new and they're easing me into the process. But, so far, I really like what I'm doing. 
Monday I was there for about two and a half hours and I was given the task of finding different places around Morgantown that would be kid friendly but also good for people of all ages as well. I did manage to find a great deal of places but the list is not completed yet. I've been working on it throughout the week as well when I wasn't in the office just to keep it updated and clean and neat. 

Yesterday, Wednesday, I was there for two hours and I was cross checking the lists of where WV Living and WV Weddings was sold. I had the correct list of places and I had the list that was on the web. I had to check to see which ones weren't on each list and make a note of it. I also was given a list of phone numbers from certain vendors that sell our Morgantown Magazine. I didn't get to that yesterday though.

That's what I was doing today, well still am doing. I called down the list and am now waiting for about three vendors to call me back with the numbers of copies sold. I've also been given my first story assignment. I'm going to be setting up an interview with one of the founders of Choosy Kids, which is a program for kids and parents and educators to help fight against childhood obesity and to just get the kids moving and having their parents help them as well. My job is to set up an interview with one of the founders and ask them simple questions about Choosy Kids, like what exactly the program is, why/how it got started, how it's making a difference, and how people can get involved. This story is for the June/July issue of Morgantown Magazine and it only needs to be 800 words. 

I'm really excited about this but I'm also extremely apprehensive about it because it is my first story assignment and I'm still getting used to the style of the magazine but I'm still excited about getting my feet wet with the magazine.

First Day!

Today was my first day at WV Living Magazine. I was... extremely nervous to say the least. I had no idea what to expect really because even though I had been in the offices before for the interview, I was still nervous to actually be there working in the offices. I had seen a glimpse of where I would be working when I was finished with my interview and it looked like a normal place where a few people would be working together on their projects. 

I walked into the offices and I was still so nervous. I was kind of hoping that I would be the only person in that intern office just so I could get my bearings down and get used to everything. I found that there was another person there, his name is Ben. We said our hellos and it was straight to work. I had a relatively easy task today, I was in charge of looking for various places within Morgantown that were kid friendly for various different types of activities that can be performed on rainy days or outdoors or for children with high energy levels or the more creative children.

They also didn't have to be strictly for children either. It could be for all ages groups. It wasn't that hard finding different places, but it was hard trying to get the location for certain areas like local parks and such. 

As my time there went on, Ben and I started talking and I found out that he and I actually have a lot in common and we'll be working at the same times on Monday's and Wednesday's. I really enjoyed my time there today and I honestly don't know why I was so nervous. I think it was just that whole idea of first day jitters or something like that, but it was actually really fun just searching the internet for different areas that are family friendly. 

Before I left, I had to take a picture of what my little area in the intern office looked like:

I can't wait to see what I get to do on Wednesday!