Have you ever been so afraid of failing at something, you find yourself having a hard time even trying?
I am currently planning and organizing my first "Faces" interview for Borderbeat. I've contacted some different Hispanic organizations on campus, to get a better idea of who I should interview, which direction to take, etc. Hopefully I will be able to get in contact with one of the organizations by Monday so I can try to arrange my first interview for no later than Friday.
But I'm nervous. And I shouldn't be. Especially going into journalism, this is something I need to get over and fast. Yet I don't think its the actual interviewing part that worries me every time, as much as it is the pressure to truly reflect the characters and values of those I'm interviewing.
It is so easy to spin an article, so easy to have your writing shift and instantly alter the reflection of those you have sat down with. They will have done their part by taking a couple hours to sit down with me and tell their life story -- but the bulk of the pressure falls upon me to adequately represent them.
That is what Borderbeat is all about to me, essentially -- adequately reporting and representing the people and the issues our nation are facing as far as immigration is concerned. It's a huge responsibility, especially at such a young age. I know we aren't the only ones out there reporting on these issues, but somehow to me, if even only one person's views are altered by reading something which will eventually be put up on the site, then we have been successful.
After all, it's hard to overcome stereotypes. They're everywhere. They are on television, on the Internet, in advertising, in conversation. Everywhere you turn, it is easy to find someone discussing border issues in a light-hearted matter. But sometimes the light-heartiness really has undertones of hatred; the hatred which shouldn't be allowed in a society that bases its beliefs in "all men are created equal."
It is funny to look back on our history and see how we've gone from an open melting pot to a country who views differences and other races as an issue that can be best resolved with heavily guarded borders, walls and deportation.
When I mentioned light-hearted jokes being everywhere you look... I decided to look around YouTube.
It's amazing how far our nation has come, isn't it?
That is why I hope with each "Faces" profile I do (as well as each article published on Borderbeat), the mirror we are holding as a new-born publication is an accurate reflection of our subjects.
Reflections, after all, shouldn't lie -- they should only project the truth.
