Learn Something New Every Day

Yesterday, I went out on a fun new assignment to cover author Kathleen O'Shea speaking at Lasell on women aging in prision. Getting out in the field is my favorite thing to do, for several reasons.

For one, I always learn something that I didn't know before about a particular subject. Even if I had previously formed an opinon on the subject, hearing the other side of any subject can only expand my knowledge on what the other side thinks. On the subject of women aging in prison, my general opinion was that they were there for a reason so I had no sympathy. Yet that's not entirely true. What is true is that laws have changed over time, therefore so have the severity of sentences. Some states have such intense laws, i.e., Missouri, that one woman was imprisoned for something her grandson did because since they lived together she was charged as an accessory. Fair? I think not. There was also an imprisoned woman whose wheelchair was stolen by a younger crowd, so she couldn't get to the next building to eat for three days. Terrible things to listen to, but if I never received this assignment I'd never be able to know these different sides of something I thought I knew all about.

Another part of getting out in the field is that I learn something new about reporting itself. My first time out way back in high school, I learned I need a mini-notebook. Next I learned I need a camera, then quotes and interviews, to keep opinions out of things, etc. This time, I learned to always sit at the end of a row in an aisle setting. I thought by sitting in the back I'd be all set, but found quickly that latecomers in this style setting typically make a bee-line for those. I felt awful interrupting people over and over trying to get better angles, but I've got a story to tell and could let nothing stop me from my quest!

In the future, I hope I can continue to go out and cover events at Lasell. To be honest, otherwise I never would have gone to this presentation otherwise, but I'm extremely glad I did!