One Nation, Under God

From failure to features

I had the honor to discuss a column I wrote a few weeks ago with some students at a local high school.

It was a privilege and an honor to field the many questions that were thrown my way. One of those questions was about how I became a writer. The question triggered a response I am not sure many saw coming.

I am an uneducated writer, meaning I did not go to school to become a writer or journalist. My disdain for writing started in grade school and didn’t really leave until I started working for the PCN.

I went to a small bible college in the northern part of Saint Louis County. It was a school of less than 200 day time students, who were learning how to study the bible to preach or teach or just learn more.

It is also a known fact that some of those students were there to earn a “MRS degree,” or to find a significant other. Being raised to think that I wasn’t supposed to think about marriage until graduation, marriage wasn’t even a thought. I was studying to become a youth pastor.

During college I hated writing, whether it was 100 words or thirty pages. I wasn’t a fan.

I had a professor who was overly passionate about writing and he was a tough teacher. I believe his English Composition II course was the last course that I had failed in college.

I think the failure of that class during my sophomore year, forced me to get my stuff together because after that my grades had been the best they had ever been in college.

I think because of the fear of failing, I did not retake English Composition II.

When I applied to become a sportswriter here at the PCN, I did not like writing, but I loved sports. In fact sports were the only thing that I had enjoyed reading about in the Chicago Sun-Times or Tribune.

While working at Walgreens, I spent many of my lunch breaks reading about the Bears, White Sox and Blackhawks.

So upon seeing the ad in the PCN one day, I walked into the PCN to apply for the job. At the time Curtis Starr asked me to write about the Saco-Whitewater Lady Panthers. Having no idea what I was doing, I called up Coach Amber Erickson to talk about their weekend.

I’m not even sure that what I wrote was good, but Curtis assured me that I would do okay. So I stuck around and eventually got over my disdain for writing. It might not be my favorite part of the job but writing has given me a pretty cool opportunity to be a part of this county’s history. For that, I am thankful.

 

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