...Keeps the Stress AWAY!

Ahhhh. The dreaded week before finals! As I lock myself in my room, and spend more time than usual in the library, Mount Mercy hosts 'Stress Buster' events this entire week. On the agenda for Spring Stress Buster Week 2017:

Monday: Petting Zoo and smoothies
Tuesday: Arts and crafts
Wednesday: massages and a candy bar
Thursday: Pet therapy and Improv Show
Friday: Minuete to Win It games
Sunday: Late night breakfast

Although this is a stressful week for students, these events are usually pretty fun and stress relieving! However, I have to say I don't see how today's stress buster event could beat any other stress buster events ever.

I was surrounded by many little kids today at the petting zoo and I loved every minute of it. Kids as in baby goats, that is!

I had goats when I was younger. Their names were Lucy and Greta, and they loved letting me ride on them, and eating our grass. Lucy was big and brown, with a white tail. (During deer hunting season we would have to make sure she was pinned up in the barn where hunters wouldn't mistake her for a white-tailed deer!) Greta was short and fat with black and grey fur. I often miss those silly animals. So when I walked out to the green space to check out the petting zoo, my day was suddenly made when I saw they had goats.

Thank you MMU, for not only releasing my stress, but making my day so much better!

 A smile a day most definitely keeps the stress away! Especially if goats are involved!

ONLY 10 MORE DAYS LEFT TO GO(AT)!

...means all play and no work?

In my Intro to Journalism class, we had the opportunity to tour the office of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Further, we got to sit in on a meeting! At the beginning of the semester, I was using this Journalism class just as a means to fill my schedule, yet I never thought I would be enjoying it this much.

Sitting in a conference room at The Gazette, editors and reporters came in with heavy duty notebooks and coffee. Two of my favorite things! As the meeting started, they discussed how the stories were progressing and when they thought their stories would be done to be published. As they talked, I tried to picture myself working in a place like that. (I was wearing my glasses that day so I especially felt like I blended in) 

My idea of a perfect view! Wouldn't this make a great office?! :)

The web manager was also present in the meeting and he showed how many views each online story got from the day before. I'm not sure if that was a routine check or something, but I found that to be especially cool. 

Although I am not an official staff member of the Mount Mercy Times, I hope to be a staff member possibly my Junior or Senior year, or even next year! I appreciated how the personnel at The Gazette gave us feedback on how we could possibly expand our audience for the Mount Mercy Times, and how we could get people more involved. 

I hear so many people say, "I don't want a desk job", yet, I think I would be perfectly content sitting in one of those offices, attending meetings, and writing as my career.

Although I'm not 100% on what I want to do, touring The Gazette, reminded me that journalism writing is still on the table for me! I have enjoyed my Intro to Journalism class a lot more than what I anticipated. Although I am not on the newspaper staff (yet), I have enjoyed the process, attending events, writing the stories, then finally seeing my stories in print! My newspaper stories are adoring my mini fridge in my dorm room! :)

I was thankful for the opportunity to tour The Gazette and even more thankful for the doors that are opening up to me as a result of Into to Journalism!

Although, writing is considered a job for the many PR reps, newspaper reporters, and many other occupations, I think a job down that path would be more like play, instead of work!