This year has been a really fun one, and unfortunately is drawing to a close. Last year around this time I made a goal that I would try to take new opportunities as often as I can. I remember when I heard about writing for The Dixie Sun that I was excited and quickly made an appointment to see the advisor, Rhiannon Bent. I hit it if well with her and through that meeting we decided that being on the staff would be a good fit. All summer I was dying of excitement! I literally could not wait to get my start as a reporter. We had a conference at the end of the summer to get started, and I instantly was hooked.
This year ended up going better than I could have ever expected. I started out writing one story per issue (which comes out weekly) and found that Lifestyles and A&E (arts and entertainment) were my favorite sections to write in, but I tried out each section as much as possible (even Sports!)
I had some really challenging assignments, including a story called "True life: I'm a Polygamist" where I had to interview former members of the religion, which was a somewhat uncomfortable task. I remember that one girl I interviewed seemed upset at some of my questions, but I just tried to remain professional and apologetic about the awkward subject matter. But the article turned out to be quite the success. I will post that, along with some of my other favorites as links at the bottom for you all to read!
Something I was really proud of was writing some of the student profiles for the A&E section. Our advisor Rhiannon and the A&E editor Matty both had really complimentary things to say about my writing and said that profiles were my niche! Then I started writing these all the time. Lifestyles had to be my favorite though, since I could write about My favorite thing: fashion. One story I wrote even got a record for the website. My Valentine Budget ideas article got over 1,000 hits in a three week period!
I have to admit though, my favorite part had to be writing for the opinion section. Another article I wrote that I was really proud of was about minding your business. I used to live with two gay roommates, and some of the questions I got were completely out of line at times. I was shocked that people would say or think those things! If anyone were to ask that of their friends with straight roommates people would be appalled. And, of course, my column happens to also appear in the opinion section!
At the beginning of spring semester, our resident advice girl, Kate, got married and left the staff, so I got the opportunity to morph "Dear Kate" into "Ask Amanda." It has been my favorite thing of the whole year! I loved answering letters for students and giving out my pearls of wisdom :) I have been through a lot so anything I can do to help others or share my experiences makes me feel like it was worth it in the end.
As the year is coming an end, I just wanted to reminisce a little bit about The Dixie Sun...the staff is amazing. One of my favorite memories of college will always be working in the newsroom on stories and having all these friends and people around to distract me and make me laugh! It made the heavy work load a lot easier. I have made so many friends and met all kinds of interesting people through this experience. I was honored at the end of the year when I was approached by Rhiannon and was offered a Staff Writer scholarship for next year! My hard work paid off, I was so proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone. Most of my writing has been creative and story format, but now I know I can do both and still make it work. I would like to share some of my writing with all of you! These are the links of some of my favorite stories of the semester:
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| My headshot |
Ask Amanda:
January 25: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-breaking-up-a-painful-burden-1.1916365
February 16: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-be-honest-when-breaking-bad-news-1.1999051
March 1: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-don-t-get-stuck-in-the-friend-zone-1.2037200
March 23: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-don-t-be-the-martyr-in-your-relationship-1.2119838
April 6:http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-old-friend-might-warrant-dismissal-1.2142933
April 20: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/ask-amanda-living-stress-free-gets-tough-during-finals-1.2184496
My Opinion Pieces:
Apologies: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/say-sorry-when-you-mean-it-not-in-every-case-1.1716059
Mind Your Business: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/opinion/rid-negative-with-positive-1.1813447
Lifestyles:
-Awkward Family Photos:http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/awkward-family-photos-something-to-avoid-1.2206964
-Bieber Fever: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/bieber-fever-spreads-to-girls-on-dsc-campus-1.2082457
-True Life: Polygamy
http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/true-life-experience-polygamy-1.1812528
-Best and Worst As Seen on TV Products:
http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/students-talk-best-worst-as-seen-on-tv-products-1.2142324
-Fashion Articles:
Fall: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/crisp-weather-calls-fashionistas-to-fall-1.1597182
Spring: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/lifestyles/mod-boho-fashion-trends-bloom-in-time-for-spring-1.2118705
A&E Student Profiles:
Kirstin Hoyt: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/a-e/kirstin-hoyt-an-asset-to-dsc-music-department-1.1778832
Lindsey Cordell: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/a-e/broadway-hopeful-lindsay-cordell-graces-dixie-state-college-1.1823071
Angie Watts: http://www.dixiesunlink.com/a-e/watts-burns-bright-at-dixie-state-college-1.1715152
Thanks for reading!
Love Always,
Manda
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