The Huntsville Times, Weeks 1 & 2

After two weeks at The Times, I'm feeling really good about the experience I'm going to leave away with after my 12 weeks are up. So far I've gotten to cover an assortment of events, got to shoot some video, got a lot more comfortable Moveable Type (MT) aka al.com posting system. This internship is the first I've had in a while. I've worked or interned every summer I've been at Bama, but this is my first REAL one. I'm not taking away from the experience I got at The CW or WVUA-TV, but for me, this is the experience that will stick with me the most because this newsroom is more similar to the one I'll hopefully be working in by the time I graduate.

I'm not gonna front, it had been a while since I wrote a traditional news story before I got in the office, so I made some simple mistakes like misspelling words or forgetting an AP style rule. I make those types of mistakes when I'm nervous. But I felt embarrassed that I made some mistakes that I shouldn't have had a problem with. I almost cried because I thought about what an opportunity this internship is and what I'm expecting of myself as well as the expectations of my editor. My editor, Shelly, is a great guy and he's encouraged me to just keep writing and that I'm getting better, which was such a relief coming from him.

But on to what I covered these past two weeks....

So last Saturday, I went to Build-A-Bear in Parkway Place Mall to shoot an 8-year-old's birthday party. ( I volunteered to shoot some video of the party on my flip camera so I could get some video experience Lydia Haynes and her friends from Decatur were making bears for tornado victims. She was so sweet! Her mom was a trip to. She's a young-career-type mom, so she was a lot of fun to talk to because she's at that age where she has an established life and role in her household, but she's not too old to connect with the women she was in her 20's. She was funny and a great person to talk with.

I also got to shoot the Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment water balloon fight the same day! Niki Doyle, the social media editor asked if I wanted to go shoot it since she thought I did such a good job on the birthday party video. You know I couldn't say no. That's Lowe Mill place was awesome. I have to go back there. Check out the video here.

I got to cover The Soldier Show for Armed Forces Week. It was super cool because 50 new soldiers got sworn in at the beginning of the show. But was happened at the end of my first week wasn't so cool.

I found out the publisher of the paper was retiring effective Aug. 1. It was expected, but to me it was a shocker. Everyone said that it was his time to step down and let someone else take over the multimedia company that The Huntsville Times is evolving into. I just hope they find someone who can take his place.

I'll keep you posted on the adventures I'm bound to have. Until next time...

The Huntsville Times, Day 1

Hello! It's been a while since I've posted, so I'm definitely excited about getting into the swing of things again. This summer, I'm back home interning with The Huntsville Times! Reporting for The Times has been on my goal sheet since I was in high school. It's hard to believe I graduated 3 years ago.

Yesterday was my first day on the job. My editor wasted no time and gave me a story to work on right away about the heat. He told me he was going to hit the ground running, but I still was surprised to get an assignment. It the day went well, although I was nervous about how well I reported since I haven't been doing general assignment stories since - well, in a long time. I've been doing long feature pieces here and there since my sophomore year. I

haven't worked in a newsroom since the summer of my freshman year, so yeah, I have some adjusting to do.

Even though yesterday's story made me feel like an inexperienced cub reporter,

I know that this is a new experience that I have to embrace and have faith and believe that I will succeed in. My expectations are high and I'm determined not to let myself, or my editor down. By the way, I saw Antoine Dodson when I went to lunch! What an awesome way to kick off an internship. Run and tell that!

Oldie but Goodie: My Black is Beautiful Poem

Alright, so this is the poem I wrote and recited at the 2008 AKA Debutante Hobby Talent Tea. (SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY LOVELY LADIES- DEBS '08!!!)I got inspiration from the My Black is Beautiful campaign BET was having. Check it.

My black is beautiful

Like the way the sun shines in the morning

Like the way the evening sounds when the sun goes down

Like the way love feels when it's a one of a kind

Like meeting my grandmother for the first time

My eyes see the smile in her eyes and our eyes both realize that we're connected.

Much more than the eye can see.

Time passes through me as I grab hold of her hands.

Slowly massaging her memories of ancestry

Those hands tell a story of love , patience, diligence, and bonds of sisterhood

Those hands tell of the lives I never could.

My black was my past.

My black is my present

As I look into the mirror, the reflection of my ocular attention leaves me breathless.

Switchin' my hips from side to side

Who said I wasn't cute?! They lied! Please.

I could hurt somebody with these!

And give a warm embrace at the same time. That's how well I shine.

My soul is more beautiful than any make-up can make-up, and that's proof.

I'm trying to say this nicely without hurting anyone's feelings, but I can't cover the truth.

My black is beautiful.

It can not be concealed, contained, hidden or retained. I am not ashamed to say that..my black is beautiful

From the tips of my toes to the curve of my hair follicles

To that funny little dance I do, to my golden hue.

From my audacious personality to the skin you see.

My black is bold enough to stand up in the face of adversity.

Carrying my head up high and having limits that go beyond sky.

My black is beautiful

My black is phenomenal like

Marian Anderson

Maya Angelou

Mary McLeod –Bethune

Madam C.J. Walker

Cleopatra

Nefertiti

Shirley Chisholm

Dorothy Dandridge

Hattie McDaniel

Ella Fitzgerald

My Black is sensational like

Lorraine Hansberry

Bille Holiday

Lena Horne

Zora Neale Hurston

Fannie Lou Hamer

Mahailia Jackson

My black is exceptional like

Coretta Scott King

Rosa Parks

4 little girls

Bettsie Smith

So journer Truth

Harriet Tubman

Cicely Tyson

Alice Walker

Ida B. Wells

Phillis Wheatly

Oprah Winfrey

Sarah Vaughn

My black is strong.

Redefining strength in a myriad of ways

From artistry, technology, cosmetology, photography, medicine, media

My black's got more definitions than an encyclopedia

Question is, is the world ready to learn?

Cuz My black is where its at as far as I'm concerned.

So lets take our pens and make our mark on the minds of the naïve so that they'll believe that their black is beautiful too.

Matrimony for my homie.

I wrote this in October as a gift to my friend who got married the following December and performed in at Jojo's spoken secrets. Found out I can't memorize like I used to, but it was all good.lol

I don’t want to understand the words.

I’d rather understand your love in more ways than one.

No empty phrases laced with false promises and no clarity

No text messages full of false hope and insincerity.

No lustful infatuations filled with short cummings

But spiritual connections worthy of making angels gleam and illuminate their wings.

Real talk, no flings.

Show me sweet nothings by laughing at the lame jokes that I miss the punch lines for.

And that look on your face when you’re thinking that I can’t help but to adore.

Show me that chivalry isn’t dead but existing in you by leaving that space on your chest and knee just for me.

And by putting the toilet seat down without piss all around.

Never let me go when I’m irritated with you knowin’ that all I wanna do is smack you upside the head

And I’ll keep in mind all the thoughtful things you’ve said.

Love notes compare nothing to the voice your read them with

Because pens haven’t inked my conscious with words memorable enough to convey the whole essence of your message.

I want to love you like I’ve never loved another.

Smooth like butter. Exposed, no cover.

Take down my cognitive walls as I undo yours

And peel back your layers

So we can re-create our cores

Both having equal shares

Let our hands do the talking. And trust me. I’ll be gentle.

Love birds playing in the Spring, we’ll resemble.

Undress me with your thoughts.

Touch me here, here, and here. (My mind, eyes, and heart for those whose minds are in the gutter.)

Show me your soul and I’ll show you mine.

Revealing that we’re both beautifully human, divinely favored and ever thine

Your mine, and I’m yours

And we both belong to The One who’s Son bore thorns.

Sleep with your eyes open so that you can see the rest of me while I breathe you in continuously.

Waiting to exhale has never felt so good because I get to breathe you in again and again.

So much so that it should be considered a sin.

Your spirit is the one they talk about in bible verses and love songs.

One so delicious and worthy of righting all my wrongs.

Kiss me when the sun sleeps and when crickets sing their midnight hymns and when grass sheds its early morning tears

So that our unconditional love can fight away our fears

I want to know you better than you know yourself. I wanna taste your tears. Hold my hand forever so that our love with outlast your years and I want my ears to always remember what you sound like.

I wanna grow wise with you on the front porch as the rocking of our chairs complement the melody made by our hearts and fireflies in softer skies.

Let our love grow so deep that we get lost and have to find each other again.

Speak love as freely as the wind so that our children will know that

God=Love=Life and that 1+1=One

Smile at me when I’m wrong

And I’ll agree with you when you’re right

Let me be the one hold your heart

You be my ‘Brother to the Night’.

So shhh..

And when it’s all said and done

I don’t want to understand the words

I’d rather love your love in more ways than one.

Week 2: Nebraska a.k.a.The Corn-Husker State

Here's a photo reel of week 2 of the UA Women's Track & Field 2011 indoor season.

Here's a video of Toni & Audra's take on how things went in Nebraska.

Week 1: Kentucky Invitational

This past week we were in Kentucky for the 2011 Kentucky Invitational Meet. It was a great start for our team with personal bests from all our freshman and some nice performances by our veterans check out the roll tide link here for a complete summary update as well as complete results. Here's some video from some of the team members themselves on how the first meet of the season went.

Good job ladies. Here's some pictures of the meet. Check it out.

And So the Journey Begins...

What's happenin' everybody?! It's 2011! Time for new everything! Which means, a new attitude and a new me. I wanted to do something big, something that's never been done before, something worth remembering and I think I've got an idea. Can I share it with you? This Indoor and Outdoor season, I'm going to make a documenting series following the women of Alabama's Track and Field squad. Pictures, summary updates, website links and blog entries about issues concerning athletics will all be here for you to see. So get ready and get set for The Fast Track: A Documentary Series. Lehgo!