9:30am, and here's Terry for his morning coffee. Cue crouch position behind coffee machine while checking empty waterbucket. This works for ten seconds until it becomes clear that someone needs to make Terry's coffee. Standing up, our eyes meet over the stacked cups. "Ah, hello Terry."
"Hello Natalie."
Fiddle with grinder.
"So, ah, what did you think?"
"Excellent." Sugar holder falls over, chocolate coffee beans all over bench and floor.
"Yes, very good. Let me know if it gets printed."
"Yes, thanks Terry!"
I couldn't believe it! Such encouragement! The watermark was high! Terry had called my article 'excellent.' I felt a sudden rush of energy, making it difficult for my colleague to communicate with me at a mature level for the rest of the day. Now all I needed was the green light from Edward...
"Not bad as a story, but we have restraints in this week's edition."
ALright Edward, I thought, I understand. And I did. It was an achievement for me to have written then re-written the article in the first place. In fact I noticed that writing had given me energy. The whole exercise had proved very beneficial for me, whether I got printed or not. I had begun to notice that my motivation to be a journalist didn't come from a desire to be printed but flowed instead from who I was. I serve people when I listen to their story, when I get points of view from people who are as far apart as possible and then bring them together in writing that is purposeful and uplifting and gives people a hope for their future, nation and culture. I want to serve people when I write. The more I write the more this mandate becomes clear - to write with the purpose of serving the people of New Zealand.
This afternoon as I was heading out the door to bring in the flat groceries from Chris' car I heard my phone ringing. It was Edward from The Aucklander. "I need a reporter, can you come in for a job interview tomorrow?" he asked.
"Of course!" I replied. As I hung up I savoured another 'clothes' moment, yet this time I had one arm in the sleeve of the fringed leather jacket.
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Hello everybody. My name is Natalie Tims and I want to be a journalist. I work five days a week in a cafe on Symonds St and I spend my afternoons interviewing people and writing stories. So far I have had two stories published on the internet, and several in a national church magazine. This blog is about my progress in achieving my dream: to serve New Zealand by being an excellent newspaper journalist.
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