Marking a Momentous Occasion with The Journalism Diaries
A reflection on officially wrapping up university and Redbrick as well as marking a momentous occasion with the blog
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Today’s blog will be slightly mishappen as I have recently come across a significant milestone with it so I wanted to do a post today. Today’s quote is very poignant in this day and age and I came across it as I was scrolling on Instagram this morning, ‘You can still burnout doing what you love.’ I think people tend to glaze over the fact that writing and artistic hobbies is actually quite draining for the artist. Rest has never been more important as it means your art will come out so much better in the end.
This week saw two significant things happen which signalled the end of my time at university as well as my work with the official student newspaper, Redbrick. On Monday, I officially received my grade to graduate and I managed to obtain a Class II, Division I (2:1). I’m very proud of myself as my journey and time throughout university hasn’t been easy, especially my final year, so I’m glad I passed with flying colours in the end. I hope I have done my family proud as I have chosen a career path filled with passion and optimism and I hope to fulfil this goal of mine to be a journalist one day.
‘You can still burnout doing what you love’
With this also came the end of my time at Redbrick. Tuesday saw the last official issue of the paper being released marking the end of the paper for the academic year 23/24. My time on committee as Digital Editor has been absolutely wonderful this year as I have written many articles out of my comfort zone and met so many beautiful, like minded people who have been old and new to the paper.
I wasn’t anticipating to write much but three of my articles ended up being in the paper and I’m very happy about this. One of them was A Love Letter to Lahore in which I wrote about my love and adoration for my ethnic city of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. I felt like the article was a little postcard back home as I wrote about my fascination with many things in the city, such as the gastronomic delights and beautiful cultural clothes. I’m very grateful it was put into the paper and I hope the article resonates with other Pakistanis like myself.
Another article which is very close to my heart and got into the paper was my Character Spotlight on Belly Conklin from one of my comfort TV shows, The Summer I Turned Pretty. The article speaks on her character and the significance of her personality throughout the trajectory of the show. One thing which I find really resonates with her is the focus on being yourself and not caring about others’ opinions. It’s easier said than done but I truly feel like once you become more comfortable in your own skin, things gradually fall into place eventually.
In terms of the blog, The Journalism Diaries has officially reached 60 subscribers! As well as this, tomorrow officially marks 6 months since I started writing the blog. To be totally honest, this blog is probably one of my most daunting projects as I started scared and reluctant to write in the first place. I’m very glad I took the step to make the blog as it has really been a little passion project of mine (and digital diary) where I have been able to work on and flourish my writing abilities.
This blog’s dedication goes out to every reader and subscriber of The Journalism Diaries. Thank you for your paramount love and support as I honestly wouldn’t be writing this blog post today. I LOVE YOU ALL TO INFINITY AND BEYOND.
Lots of love and hugs,
Halima <3