jueves, 16 de julio de 2009

My People, My Spin, and My Wind

By: Jessica Medrano


If I were a kite, I would be in the sky for three reasons: love, journalism, and literature. Those three things support my life every day. The ones that I love would be the people that hold the spin of the kite, journalism would be the spin itself, and literature would be the wind. The passion that I feel for these is like a fire that embraces my heart, but it is the kind of fire that doesn’t destroy; on the contrary, these have helped me to create the person that I am. If I had not any of these, I could not find the sense of my life. I would be wandering disoriented.


First of all, my family, my friends, and my boyfriend are the physical representation of the love I enjoy. Every single person that has been part of my days has helped me to grow up. As I said, they are who hold the spin. If they were not in my life, I would roam aimlessly. I would be lost in a big world. However, I can be far away from them, and the love we feel connect us to each other. I think that people need something that supports them; in my case, that is love. Since I was a child, I have seen how the people around me have helped me to cure my wounds when I fell, literally and figuratively. My family´s advice has helped me to construct the woman that I am; the laughs that accompany a good coffee with my friends remind me that a special moment is not so expensive; and a big embrace from my boyfriend fills me with a serene peace. For example, because I grew up in a matriarchal family, seeing the courage of all these women has taught me not to give up when I have a problem. I know that I need of others either for working together on a project or just to scratch my back where I cannot , and are all moments that give me a soft and warm sensation in my heart, which I feel with every beat.


The second fundamental thing in my life is journalism. Since I decided to study this, I have had wonderful experiences. As the spin to the kite, journalism keeps me connected to reality, to the floor. When I go to cover any fact, I can feel part of the history, part of the event, of the reality. For example, in 2006, I participated as a journalist in the May 1ˢͭ march against the proposed Anti-Immigrant HR4437 in Los Angeles. It was exciting to see thousands and thousands of people together with the same objective. Although I wasn´t walking with them fluttering the American flag, I felt how important that moment was in their lives. I could live a historical moment working as a journalist. Another example is when I go to the stadium to cover any soccer match, even though I don’t like soccer too much; I feel the happiness that people radiate when the team makes a goal, and when I write about that I try to recreate that sensation in the paper. In addition, I think that to inform others about the injustices in the world is my way of contributing to society. I know that, unfortunately, the freedom of speech around the world is just a utopia, so I want to work to counteract that. As a journalist, I have to give equal opportunities for all people to express their opinions. However, I don´t want to be a messiah of freedom of speech, I just want to work as a journalist to get it. In addition, when I write about the things that happen around me, I have the opportunity to show others what is really happening. I believe in the defense of the truth, and I also believe that if people know the events exactly as they occur, they can make better decisions. I love to work in the world of journalism. It is an excellent chance to work with others for others.


Finally, my wind is the literature. When I am reading a book, I feel that I can fly to many worlds. Since I learned to read, literature has been part of my life. I used to say that I sleep with many lovers in my bed because over it I have up to seven books at a time in my room. I have a different lover every night. For example, in these days, I am sleeping with Pío Baroja, Laura Restrepo, Ernest Hemingway, T.C. Boyle, Robert Downs, Jostein Gaarder, and an encyclopedia. To me, reading is an exciting experience. A good writer can make me feel and see the sceneries he or she describes. They have permitted me to be, without really being, in Paris, Spain, or Colombia, and it permits me to know many cultural details. Moreover, literature allows me to live, during 200 or more pages, in an imaginary world. To be in a bookstore or a library could be a toy store to me, a place where I find fantasies and realities in alphabetical order. When I buy a book, I hug it as a child does with her favorite doll, and I cannot let it go until I finish reading. I am always looking for a good book, not just because the literature stimulates my imagination, but it also shows me how to write better. From Gabriel Garcia Marquez to George Orwell, from José Saramago to Ernest Hemingway, I have enjoyed every word that they wrote, and I see how they use the words to create fiction. In this case, I must to say that my capital sin is gluttony because I devour book after book. With literature I am insatiable. When I am reading, I am learning at the same time. As a future journalist, I need to know how to write, and I know that if I read the great authors, I can improve my writing. Through books, I have known distant worlds and times. Literature has been the wind that raises me to imaginary skies.


These three things move my days. Love, journalism, and literature give me many reasons to wake up in the morning. Those are my three passions. A special moment with the ones that I love, a day of work in the real world, or a captivating scene in the book that I am reading make me feel how important is to be alive. If I lost one of them, I would be a kite than could not reach the sky anymore.