WJI Blog 2022, May 28 PM - Seeing What Matters

On an evening walk last night, my new dear friend, Michaela, commented that it had been our easiest day all week. Yesterday, we were in class from nine in the morning to nine in the evening (with breaks for meals, of course). Her comment, while completely accurate, made me laugh.

This week, I have felt thoroughly stretched. I am surprised that I am, by the grace of God, not broken. I have shed a total of two tears and drunk more coffee than I would be comfortable with admitting. For a class assignment, all 28 of the students piled into two white vans, drove to downtown Sioux Center, and captured any details that we could find. On Wednesday (I think it was Wednesday), we donned our blazers, participated in a mock press conference, wrote individual scripts, and memorized a news segment. The next day, we filmed, produced, and submitted our videos. Because of the various assignments, I have spoken to more strangers than I ever have in my life. Except for the one lady who was a bit rude, I have been surprised by how eager people are to share their stories. I am weary to the point of not knowing how to rest. But never has my mind felt so awake.

Although I have been passionate about stories for some time, I am now convinced that they are vital to who we are as human beings. Without stories, we would never know who we are or what we were made for. Christ, as a creative friend once told me, didn’t “mind-beam” his followers with truth. He told stories. Like Dr. Sillars pointed out, journalism is, “An exercise of the moral imagination.” I will not pretend to fully comprehend what he meant. But his words speak to the importance, the urgency, of what we are learning.

I feel as though I am being trained to cherish the specific: the dirt beneath polished fingernails, the watch face worn on the inside of the wrist, recycled church pews being used for seating in a coffee shop, “call this number for help” tear away paper with missing slips. As a journalist – as a person – I am learning to interpret the significance of details. In a world which screams that nothing matters, and that truth is simply a figure of speech signifying nothing (thanks to Dr. Olasky for that one), it is refreshing to learn from people who still believe in meaning.

- Bekah McCallum