Tuesday 24th April: The Day I realised why I am here.

This morning I was lucky enough to receive a talk from Nick Booth. I was previously unaware of his work but have since found that he has done some amazing things around Journalism and Social Media.

He asked us why we were here and to begin with I just couldn't answer. The only thing that came to mind was 'errr....I like to write,' but when I really started to think about it I really remembered why I had bothered to begin my degree at all.

From the beginning of my academic career I have been pushed towards academia. I was very skilled and very hardworking and would push myself to the end of the earth for an A but until later I realised this was simply my desire to succeed. I didn't enjoy these subjects, far from it but I couldn't fail. My heart and mind simply wouldn't let me.

I have always been an avid observer of the news in all its forms. From a very young age I have concerned myself with the inner workings of far flung countries and governments and truly felt my brain was a sponge. I simply can't take the feeling of not knowing what someone is discussing. I'm nosy and I like to talk to people, lack of knowledge gets in the way of that love and thats always been something that I haven't been able to handle.

I made it my business to become a sort of oracle at school. From a very young age within my family I have been known as the family encyclopaedia, always ready to explain and add to interesting conversation.

I also loved to write, I have folders full of poems, stories and reports. I am dyslexic so I have always struggled with maintaining concentration long enough to read a book. I need the information at such a rate that only an article would do. It wasn't until I left secondary school, and entered what at the time felt like 'the big bad world,' (how naive I was) that I actually realised I could do this as a job.

It hadn't dawned on me before but as though I was having some kind of spiritual enlightenment I suddenly realised, What if I were to make this into a job? My two biggest interests, writing and knowing everything about what is happening all over the place, or as it is commonly known Journalism.

Over the next year at college I found a course at Birmingham City University that I loved. I knew if I had any hope of making this fantasy career an actual reality I had to know the industry inside out and this was the first obvious way of doing that. I worked hard for 2 years with this course in mind, and in May 2010 I gained my place.

At 21 I'm obviously not mature, I'm in no way a seasoned professional but I would like to think I've grown over the last 2 years (since beginning my degree) and I now know how to answer Nick Booth's question.

Why is Emma Allen here?

I want to make people care about the news.
I want to make people who don't pick up the paper or watch the news care about what is happening in the world.
News has become rather unaccessible for a large portion of the community, all the jargon and gibberish is intimidating and if it wasn't there then maybe people would take the time to understand whats happening in the America Elections? or who President Sarkozy is? or whats happening in our own government?

A scary amount of people don't even know who our Prime Minister is and this needs to change.

The 'disillusioned youth' of last summers riots might have been a little less eager to destroy this country if they understood the reasons we're in a recession, why unemployment is so high and if they took the time to know whats happening in there community.

I'd like to think so anyway.

So...I've decided what my final year project will be and realised it was years in the making all in one day and all because of one discussion.