Dear Anonymous Reader,

As you can tell from that awful play on the comparison of an alcoholic to a person who reports the news, I’m hilarious. But beyond the humor of it, the phrase brings up an interesting parallel. Both a journalist and an alcoholic consume enough of something to make them delirious, with journalists, media and with alcoholics, well…alcohol. But the only real difference, is that journalist take what they consume, and make something with it. They take all the noise of the world and turn it into something that the average citizens can in turn consume themselves. Whether it be tv news, news paper, online, social media or anything at the fingertips of people in this time and day, (which is a lot) journalists take that medium and figure out how to educate people with it. And that’s probably one of the thing I admire the most about them. A good journalist is dedicated to keeping their audience from becoming ignorant to what’s really going on and I think all of the students at this camp are and will be amazing journalists. I think that in this small time, we have done so much and learned so much about journalism, ourselves and each other. It’s been beautiful. I’m going to miss this. Can’t forget, here’s some advice for next year’s workshoppers; The first night of camp, make sure you all stay up late in the lobby together and get to know each other. Because the earlier you start bonding the more enjoyable this will be, trust me. Also whatever you do, do not and I repeat DO NOT avoid doing assignments. By the end of the week the people who are the most proud are those who did the most quality stories. (keep in mind the word quality, mustn’t forget that.) And finally, no matter how cheesy this may sound, have fun, you’re going to regret it if you don’t.

Yours For The Time Being,

E. Streeter (2016)