Intro: Here by accident? Me too
I woke up in a cold sweat once when I was 16. Panting, I grabbed the water bottle from my nightstand as I greeted the destiny just shown to me in a dream: I was going to be a journalist.
I’m kidding. I actually joined my high school newspaper by accident and have constantly questioned whether or not this is what I am meant to be doing with my life. That doesn’t sound nearly as romantic or divine though.
I have always loved reading and coming up with my own stories, and I had briefly considered a career in publishing. Non-fictional writing, however, eluded me until I was sitting in that classroom in 10th grade.
For the next three years, I worked my way up in the staff while practicing writing articles. Our teacher wasn’t only excellent in the way that he gave tips to better our writing and editing. Mr. Rhinehart made sure we knew the importance of journalism. He encouraged us to believe that the news would always have an impact on society (for better or worse).
Above: Me reading my high school's newspaper the year I joined the staff with chipped nail polish my mom would be ashamed of.
As a people-pleasing middle child, I have always believed that people can find common ground on polarizing issues. And as someone who always notices when others are talked over, I recognized the importance of highlighting voices that were being ignored.
Beginning to see the world as a journalist, I came to admire feature stories that were able to tell a story so broad it applies across the country but simultaneously are so narrow you can see the issue from one person's viewpoint. These stories did everything I wanted my writing to do: connect people through truth and compassion.
When I started writing, I gravitated toward news concerning politics, health and social justice issues dealing with race, LGBTQIA+ rights and the environment.
When I began freelancing nearly a year ago, I thought that I was limited to writing for other publications. It took me a while to realize that I could create my own platform and write about these topics that are important to me.
As a nonbinary lesbian, I want to be able to support other queer people and bring awareness to issues in our community. As a white person, I want to share my platform with people of color to speak on their community and issues directly affecting it. As a tree-hugging hippie (according to my father), I want to emphasize the impact that each one of us can have on our environment.
My first job after graduating college was as a government reporter for a newspaper in Southern Indiana. I learned so much about the impact local news has on a community in terms of the government, non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals. It helped me solidify my belief that you have to focus on bettering your corner of the world.
I hope to carry that ideology with me as I continue freelancing. While my reach might not be huge right now, I can still have a meaningful impact on my community.
I am planning to post a mix of content on my blog that will include personal pieces and feature stories about topics concerning the Louisville population. If you know of any topics, businesses or issues in the area that you would like to see covered, please don't hesitate to reach out!
As a freelancer, I would also love to connect with businesses in the community that need help updating their website content to better reflect their stories.
Though I fell into this very surprising career path by accident, I am so excited to see where this journey continues to take me.
