When I first tell people I am a journalism major and write for the school newspaper, the general response is something along the lines of, "Good luck finding a job."
It's an easy line of thought to fall into.
Spending the past year writing for the community section, however, has allowed me to expand my response about what my future looks like.
I still can't tell people what magazine or what newspaper I plan to write for after I graduate. I can't even tell them with all certainty if my favorite magazines and newspapers will still be printed by the time I graduate.
I can tell them I will be telling the stories of the common person, like I do every week for the community section of The Plainsman.
In my first month on the job, I was assigned to do a profile story about the owner of U&I Boutique, Maya Ozokur. She is a Bosnian refugee and escaped from an internment camp at the age of six with her family.
It was a heavy subject. It took me more hours to write than I would like to admit; partly because I was still new to writing stories, and partly because the burden of asking about and telling the story behind someone's most personal life experiences was something I was still uncomfortable with.
Then, after the story was published, I saw that people were interested in it. Most importantly, Ozokur was interested in it.
I got faster at writing and better at gathering the right information with each passing week, but those new skills weren't the best part of writing for The Plainsman.
There is something about seeing your story and pictures printed on a newspaper, or posted on a news website that brings a genuine smile to the subject's face.
I got to see that smile on a clown-puppeteer turned entrepreneur, the daughter of a famous Boston boxer who had been on the run from the mafia and a bail bondsman who helps bail out Auburn students.
I've gotten to tell the story of the underground skateboarding culture fighting to make their mark on Auburn.
I've attended city council meetings and informed the public about those in power.
While working for the community section I developed a reputation. I became the person people came to for information. Even if I wasn't the person reporting on the story, I knew things other people were curious about.
That's what writing for The Plainsman, and writing for any newspaper or magazine, is about.
I don't write, or want to write, for money or fame. I'm not entering the journalism field because it's a growing job market. I do it because people need to know what is going on around them and who the people in their community really are.
By writing for the community section this past year, I grew up. I learned every person has their own private story that is truly amazing. I learned the Auburn community is small in size, but everyone here has a unique past.
Most importantly, I learned how critical it is to follow the news and learn about the people around you, because if it wasn't for The Plainsman, getting stuck in the Auburn bubble would be too easy.
Nick Hines is a junior in Journalism. He has worked for the Plainsman for more than nine months as a writer and photographer. He can be reached at nch0006@auburn.edu
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