:) This entry is my distraction from writing my article for the paper. I'm writing about the HPV vaccine And even though I'm distracting myself, I'm actually really enjoying writing it. It's nice to have a story like that, quite frankly it's been a while. I enjoy writing about relavent things to me, and things with a little controversy. I never write about safe things, like elections or school plays. I like presenting conflicts. That's just what I enjoy, and I think that's why I'll enjoy writing about politics so much. There's one problem that this fascination for conflict has brought on: cencorship. Yes, I have become my principle's biggest annoyance, becuase I have a habit of writing about things that Dr. Humble tries to throw out completely. It started when I wrote a story about rap. I wrote about how many students do not listen to it becuase it is often sexist. I figured rather than just state "It's Sexist", I'd show how it was sexist, by showing a couple of lines from a popular rap song by Dr. Dre. Big mistake, apparently. Dr. Humble made me take that out of my article. Then last month I wrote about school dances, and how so many students had problems with grinding. Dr. Humble did more than simply try to edit out the majority of it, he wrote Ms. Schmitz saying that he didn't want the article published on the grounds that it "made him uncomfortable." My article was not graphic or exxagerated in any way. I cencored myself a lot, actually. I wanted to describe grinding as simulating anal sex, because that's really all it is. But I described it as "rubbing the bodies against eachother, back to front, in a sexually suggestive manner." Well, after Ms. Schmitz apparently fought extremely hard to save my aritcle, it made it in the to the paper, after about four paragraphs got completley scrapped. And now, I'm writing about HPV. Yes, an STD. I'm sure this one's gonna get scrapped as well. It's quite a shame. I did a lot of interviews and whatnot for it. It's going to be quite an intricately done story. I'm representing the moral conflicts and the atvantages, the side effects the diseases prevented. It's going to be a damn good story. But yes, it has to do with sex. OH FUCK. Apparently this isn't the place to talk about that, in a school paper. Too bad HALF OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE SEXUALLY ACTIVE BEFORE THEY GRADUATE. So sure, this isn't a good place to put it. I'm tired of idealists. Yes, I'm a virgin, but I'm still going to be vaccinated. Half the population has it and I don't want cancer. That simple. Back on topic, I hate being cencored. But then again, that's how it will be when I'm really a journalist. Sure, there's freedom of the press, but there's so much to getting things out that people don't want published... I'm looking forward to it. It's all about how you say things. However, freedom of the press is not something that comes easily. True, the majority of the time it won't be the government stopping you. It will be the money. Just look at the News and Observer (the god of all newspapers) sending out that "Obsession" propoganda. Newspapers can be bought, just like anything else in the world. Especially now that circulation is going down so greatly. But I can't wait :) I don't know. I do need to get back to writing now. But if I'm this fascinated by this single article I'm writing--and believe me, I am, I absolutely adore the politics of journalism--then I know that this is gonna be worth it. All this. All this crap with Ms. Schmitz All this dealing with amatuers All this stress with college applications It's all going to be worth it. And it's all going to be worth it when I'm out there, too. When I'm overworked and underpaid, and when I'm staying up all night to crank out a story to meet a deadline, when I'm writing stories that are gonna get scrapped because there's no room in layout; Hell, when I get stuck doing layout [which for those who don't know, is absolute hell], it's all going to be worth it. I feel so lucky that I've truly found what I love. I feel so lucky that I know. and that I truly do have something that I do love and that I do enjoy and that I do have a passion for. Sure, it's a dying industry, and sure, the average starting salary is only $31,000--but I really really really don't care. I know. I love it. I'm gonna have a huge mark on the world, and no one is gonna even know my name. I'm going to influence how a huge portion of the population sees things, and they're not even gonna realize it or know the difference. I'm going to be writing. writing. writing. and I can't fucking wait :]