Sighs of Relief

Spongebob Squarepants perfectly describes adulthood.

Whew.

My first time being a speed scouter representing TPE on March 30 at Speed Scouting Sunday! What a great turnout that was. Thank you Sherry Berry. <3

I’ve officially finished my first year of my MPA program at VCU Wilder School. If anyone wonders, “Where the hell has Paula been?” 

The answer is simple, school is and will always be my first priority (besides the gym.) I’d be lying if I said this spring semester at Wilder was easy. I wish I could’ve written about RVA Fashion Week SS25 (Spring Season), VCUArts Spring Fashion Show, WearRVA and so forth, but again, all these shows coincided with my final projects. Womp, womp. It’s okay, I’m not that sad – there’s always a next time or another fashion show, launch party or networking event to attend and write about, which is why I am forever grateful to have connections who understand my other endeavors and who always keep me in the loop of events to attend.

Leaving a full-time job I truly loved and balancing nine total credit hours as a grad student for the remainder of March and April was Hell, but looking back, I’m glad I endured these challenges because they’ve made me a more resilient person and also grateful that I was never fed with a silver spoon in my mouth.

Everything I worked for — earning two degrees, serving as a news reporter and running this blog didn’t come from being privileged or having nepotism. It’s crazy that I say this because the past two months I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome. Losing a job makes you question your qualifications and self-worth. It makes you question whether or not the fault or blame should be placed on you. Financial burdens are often the center of the question. But, those questions often make you step back and change your perspective that maybe…just maybe…the Universe is leading you to somewhere better fit for you.

Underneath the adversities, I still found time to give back to my community by sharing my expertise in news reporting. One day, Associate Professor Alix Campos from VCU’s Robertson School posted a forum on LinkedIn asking for former and current journalists to serve as a portfolio reviewer for *mostly* j-school (journalism school – get use to my journalese and fashion jargons) seniors’ capstone course. Students were expected to compile a portfolio of journalistic work to present to industry professionals and receive constructive feedback, including networking opportunities. In commemoration of graduation season for VCU Robertson’s seniors and wanting to build my relationship with the school despite being a Wilder student, why not? I needed to take a break from finals. 

It was refreshing to see my connections and meet some new journalists in person, like catching up with work or chatting about the latest news and gossip from downtown Richmond and whatever that is going on with the GA (VA General Assembly) and the State. To be quite honest, off-the-record chatter about bureaucrats and public officials delegating controversies was nothing new to me – more like an eye roll as a former news reporter now, since I could never have the chance to insert my opinions privately. 

The girls I reviewed – Madison (right below) and Ciniya (left below) – are so sweet. They were equally talented with their reels and resumes. I literally thought with their skillsets, they’re more qualified than I am with my career, ha! VCU taught them well to be versatile, especially with technical skills that most journalists haven’t acquired. 

However, my greatest concern for these prospective students is that it’s obvious traditional forms of news reporting and public relations are not being taught as much as I thought it would be. In addition, some students I spoke with are in the broadcast journalism concentration, but that also serves no exception to being an exceptional writer and communicator. While I see many students are talented in their work, their journalistic writing skills somewhat need to be improved. Lack of attention-grabbing hooks, vague reporting for a broad audience and not an extensive vocabulary in some stories I’ve read for VCU’s student news publications. Only a journalist would be able to understand. But, it’s OKAY! I only say this from a professional standpoint, as opposed to an academic standpoint. 

Good writing does not take overnight, as being a good storyteller takes time and patience. I learned that it’s all about being familiar with the specific news beat (topic or specialization) you’re interested in, but also reading other stories from other journalists. It can be from Vogue or Vanity Fair magazine or Washington Post – you’ll find a lot of news outlets have different writing styles. I find that the more you read stories from those who are good writers, then therefore, you can bounce off on certain writing styles, vocabularies and so forth. 

Just look at me. I’m still improving on my craft everyday. 

I know what you’re probably asking…

What is there to do during the summer? What do I wear at the office during the summer? What are the summer fashion trends? How do I dress up for a job/internship/fellowship interview? Any editorial projects on the horizon? Why can’t I find the job I want? Why are all these lay-offs happening?

All of these will be answered in the next few weeks – never fear, I am here.  

TPE never left – it just needed to take a big step back and reflect. 

See you in the next story,

– Paula J.P.