Pictures Are More Than Memories

From Blog Photos

Have you ever just had the urge to just stop what your doing and look into the sky? Recently I have felt like I am being bombarded with so much work and stress from school I feel lost. I know I am not the only one feeling these kinds of emotions in this world. It is important to sometimes just stop whatever we’re doing and just look into the beautiful sky. As I saw the sun setting in the evening sun I felt relieved and my mind started to ease. I just thought to myself  “Life can’t be so bad, if it’s filled with such beauty.”

From Blog Photos

     Lately as I walked the campus of my university, Seton Hill University, I felt as if there was nothing left for me to take advantage of. I felt that all the points and places of interest the university had, I had already taken a picture of. As I put down my camera giving up my search for something to shoot, the image of a small flower growing in some gravel appeared on the screen of my camera.

     I was shocked to see how vivid and alive the image of the flower and small insects patrolling the flower grasped my attention so strongly. I realized that I was too busy looking for something big, new, and interesting to photograph that I forgot one of the key points of photography. There is always something to photograph, sometimes you just need to look for smaller things in this world.  Things such as a flower growing in some gravel may seem trivial, but the flower is a world of its own with the potential of supporting hundreds of insect lives, something similar to a Horton Hears a Who scenario.

    Just as I took nature for granted, we as a people often take many things in life for granted. We look at the large endeavors, but we often take the small simple things in life for granted.  Small things such as the setting sun, eating lunch with friends, the Internet, and even the joy of electricity, without it I couldn’t be doing typing this right now. Even the small things in life are filled with beauty and importance and should never be left for granted.

The press and journalist are continuously bombarded by the public as being unfair and one sided. However this perception of journalism was not always negative. According to the analysis of Robert J Haiman the issue of fairness in press was not an issue before the 1900’s. However in January of 1936 a survey was taking regarding the standards of journalism.

While journalists have a tendency to focus on the negative of news I was surprised to find that the issue of fairness in journalism stemmed to back in the 1930’s. According to the survey taking in 1936 42% of people believed that the press and journalist abused their power. I believe that the press’s bad reputation is I due part to journalist’s persistence to chase a story when there is no story, While being persistent is part of being a journalist, one cannot begin to create a story when there is no story by taking a few quotes from people. Picking at a person’s words does not make a fair and true story, but instead creates a gap between the public and the press.

The question becomes what does it mean to be fair and unfair in journalistic writing. This is problem that cannot be easily solved due to the various different types of journalism, and wide array of stories written. With different types writing comes a need for a different perspective and attitude toward a story. However no matter what the writing the purpose should not be to bash the person or group in the story.

Fairness is important in journalism because foremost a newspaper’s audience is the people of the public and if the public believes a paper is unfair they will not continue to read that particular paper. Also if a paper has a reputation of being unfair it may become extremely difficult for them to get interviews for their stories. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ZF3qXk5Mk

As students begin thinking about settling down on campus one of the greatest concern is fitting in. I was no exception to this. As I made my way onto the Seton Hill University (SHU) campus, I began to feel anxious of the people I would meet. Coming from a small island where everybody knew each other, I was unsure of how people would welcome me. As I made my way up the staircase lugging my suitcases to what would be my new home, I was surprised by how easy going everybody was. Everybody I met was kind and welcoming which instantly melted most of my uncertainties. What truly eased my remaining fears was experiencing how close the teachers and students truly were. The teachers here at Seton Hill are all very understanding and are truly passionate about what they teach. They work along with their students forming bonds while passing on what they know. Seton Hill University is the definition of a close-knit community in which people come from all over to become one family.

Seton Hill is not only a university, but also a community and family that builds friendships that last more than just four years.