The Journalist at Work

I wrote both of my pre-writes today for Feature Writing and I have to say, I am more nervous about writing about my personal experience than I am about the elderly man in the bar. This got me thinking; do I keep myself busy to avoid coming to terms with my personal life challenges?

            I am taking 12 credits this summer, working, and continuing my internship at Harley-Davidson. I am busy every day of the week but I love it! I sleep well, take care of my dog, and have a routine. However some people are consumed by nothing. I predict that this is the case for the man I am interviewing for my Personality Article. This elderly man sits on a bar stool at Station 1, a bar in downtown Whitewater, keeps to himself, has a soda, and silently observes patrons. I am fascinated with his silence. Someone who can be so silent must be used to the silence around him.

His eyes say heartbreak and his silence says loneliness. I feel for the man, but is he really one to be pitied? Who knows, he may be perfectly content and come to terms with his life and himself, but chooses to sit and fill his days with silent observation.

This makes me think of what would happen if I put my life aside and evaluated myself. This thought brings fear to me that I would find an emotion that I have never felt before, or that I would find a feeling that would flash me back into the experiences of my past. As I am brainstorming questions to ask the man in the bar, I ponder if I should be asking myself the same questions.

In reference to my previous post, I am still trying to find my path in life and who I “really am.” But is who I am not something that I am pretending to be, or something I have conformed myself to that has become permanent? Or, am I just over analyzing this whole life thing and have to come to terms with the fact I’m going to be six feet under some day?

What is our purpose here?

On that deep, philosophical note, goodnight!