It's been a while, huh? There are a few different reasons for my absence from writing on this blog. Probably the biggest one being I moved to an entirely new state and started a real career! And in between that I survived my last semester of college, graduated from said college, spent some time working two different part-time radio jobs in Indianapolis, and spent a little time in my hometown. It's been a crazy last 9 or so months in my life.
Right now I work full-time in Wausau Wisconsin as a radio news reporter. Which honestly I really didn't expect in the slightest. I mean, I was the radio news director my last year of school, but I felt like it wasn't a position I did well in. I felt like I was a bad leader because I didn't really know what I was doing so I was more interested in other parts of my job at my college station. Like the morning show I was a part of and all the different sports broadcasts I called from week to week. So seeing that I ended up in a news job is still surprising to me.
Especially because I feel like I still don't know what I'm doing. Like yes, I can put together and record a newscast without any real problems other than messing up my words. But I definitely feel way out of my league basically two months in. It probably also doesn't help that I never really did field reporting outside of sports reporting before I moved here. So I knew nothing about all the different city meetings that exist to cover, or how meetings are run and the different rules that go into them. I don't think I'm ever going to learn them all to be honest.
Actually, I don't know if I'm ever going to feel comfortable in a news reporter job unless it's sports based. It's not a title that feels right to me at the moment as I never thought about myself as a reporter in school. I was a personality and an announcer, not someone who goes out and reports. It's going to take a while to get used to the title. Especially since there is definitely still a part of me that wants to go back to music and being a personality. As that's where I fell in love with radio, was the way it connected me back to music.
Music is a huge part of my life. I started playing the violin at 5 years old (on 9/11 no less), and I can't remember a time when music wasn't my second language. Listening and consuming music is the one thing I do every day. Whether that be jamming to a station in the car on my short commute to work, or sinking into my favorite artists when I'm having a rough time. Music is really the best way I know how to express myself and what I'm feeling. It makes me feel complete, so I'm always going to want to be around music and involved in music.
I'll also admit I'm pretty lonely out here. I'm a night anchor, so I don't really have the time to go out and meet people or start making friends. The little bit I've done on weekends is sparse and hasn't led to much afterward. I'm an extrovert, so spending so much time alone at work and when I'm off is pretty difficult for me. There have been plenty of nights of me crying wondering if I can actually do this by myself. Or if I'll just give up and head home so I can be around my support system. Now rationally I know that is so not possible, and I'm not one for giving up or quitting. Especially since I love radio so much and I want to be in broadcasting so badly.
I'm hoping at some point I'll figure out how to be less lonely and to not feel like an imposter in this job. But I have to be honest with the fact that I'm struggling right now on several different levels. And I guess that's what happens when you make a big change in your life. Or maybe it's just being in your early 20's and not having figured out exactly what you want out of life yet. It's hard to see where I'll be moving forward considering everything is so new and I don't see all the potential around me yet.
But it's not all doubts here either. First of all this part of the country is beautiful. A river cuts straight through the city and there is greenery for days. Growing up in Indiana my entire life, I've never lived somewhere that has so many hills and mountains. It's so different from what I'm used to and I'm enjoying it.
While I mentioned earlier I am pretty lonely, at the same time I've enjoyed all the people I've met so far. Working in broadcasting you're bound to find exciting and interesting people. From those at our TV station partner to my coworkers at the office. People are also really nice here when your out and about. I've had a couple different people just start talking to me out of nowhere and the conversations have been pretty pleasant.
I've also really enjoyed learning the sports scene around here. I'm lucky that I get to spend my Friday nights as an update anchor for high school sports in the Wausau area and board op a couple of football games. It's definitely made Friday night's one of my favorite times of the week.
Also, the professional sports around here are pretty cool, well other than the Packers. Having been raised a Bears fan all my life dealing with Packers fans can be a bit of a challenge. But the Bears currently sit atop the NFC North, so things are all good right now. It's also been so fun to see the Brewers make their run to the playoffs this season. Being a White Sox fan I knew there was no way they'd make the playoffs unless a miracle happened, so I jumped on the Brewers bandwagon pretty quickly. Since their a Cubs rival, it makes them pretty easy to love. I don't know much about the Bucks yet as I haven't spent a ton of time paying attention to the NBA, but that will come as their season begins. And then being a Big 10 fan I like to see Wisconsin do well as long as they aren't playing IU. Which they don't in football this year, so they're pretty easy to root for as well.
Well, I think that's about it for an update on my current situation/life. This blog has gotten pretty long anyway, huh? I'll definitely be trying to use it more often as I feel it's a good creative outlet for me. Since I'm not finding news to be very creative, this blog could really help. And of course, since the hockey season begins this week (2 days as I write this!) I'll be writing a lot about sports and hockey. So expect more to come and no it won't take almost 10 months for another blog post from me. Less than a month, I promise.