Viewpoint: Journalism is Not for Everyone!

Kaylee Liu, News Editor

I haven’t learned much from working at The Voice for three years, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that journalism isn’t for me. I guess I’ve also learned that punctuality isn’t an elementary skill for most people, and that, even worse, grammar belongs in the stratospheric realm of tertiary education. I realize the irony of that statement. That said, I’ve had a great time working here. Four years ago – before we moved everything to our shiny new computers – we used to sit in the cramped basement office in the old Lowry copy editing everything by hand with many different colored pens. Not to name names, but we’d often get yelled at (affectionately) for making mistakes, especially with regards to punctuality and grammar. I like to think that I – and the current editorial board – have broken the cycle of loud, slightly aggressive newsrooms, particularly when it comes to raising voices at 18-year-olds. Still, I look back on that first year with nothing but fondness. Honestly, it was fun getting yelled at. It gave a sense of urgency to the project. I spent my second year in The Voice on Zoom, waking up at 6 in the morning to attend the editorial board from bed. I’d barely talk, and when I did, I’d whisper into the microphone because my throat was dry, as there was no interval between opening my eyes and logging onto the call for a drink of water. My champion in those dark times was my co-editor Lark, who is now my friend, but also my boss, who steered us through those meetings with the poise of someone who’d been awake for at least eight hours. Technically she’ll just be my friend by the time this is published. Things finally improved for me this last year, when I got to come back to the office and stay up past my bedtime wrangling with InDesign (the software we use to create the paper). In many ways, it was worse than working from the comfort of my bed. I guess the one good thing is that I got to talk to everyone else in the office, but then again, I used to Zoom in and talk to people anyway. So, I suppose it was a downgrade in the end. Still, I’m grateful for the time I spent here, because the only thing worse than working at The Voice is not working at The Voice. Special thanks to my co-editor Gianna, my friend-boss Lark, my friend-colleague Haley and all my other friend-colleagues.