Two months ago, my good friend Madelaine got a job interning at Z-93 The Shock, a local news radio station. It was the kind of job that every student with a journalism/communications major dreams of that came with a lot of perks...answering numerous phone calls, lots of fact checking, endless hours of research, making that cup of coffee just right. But the perk that Madelaine loved most of all, came after a month of hard work and dedication. Madelaine's boss, Staci Griffin, offered Madelaine the chance to produce, write, direct, and star in her own Saturday morning show. And the person Madelaine chose to be her co-host? Me.
According to Madelaine this would be our chance to make our voices be heard around Tucson, with a ground breaking mix of heady talk, music and politics that would break up the mold and shake up the student booty. I mean, body. Well, depending on the music we played, the booty too, I guess. But Saturday mornings? I mean, what self-respecting college student was up at that time? But then again there was the experience and the fact that Oprah Winfrey got her start in entertainment by doing a small radio show.
Still, it was a request I had to think over before giving my final answer. I mean, radio personalities had to have fun and exciting lives. Would mine qualify enough to fill an entire three hour show? And while I was mulling over Madelaine's offer, I got another one.
Down the street, from Alice's Downtown Flower Market, was a community art school, called ArtFare, where one could learn how to draw, paint, sculpt, or even dance. And judging by the people who worked there, one would guess that one could learn the art of flattery there, as well.
His name was Pablo, and like the artist, he claimed to know good art when he saw it. And he claimed that the chalk drawings I drew on the shop board were just that. So good, in fact, he asked if I would come to ArtFare and paint a giant, larger-than-life mural on the three-story stairwell of their building. But I wasnt a professional artist. I was just your average, run-of-the-mill, sketch doodler who still hadnt mastered how to draw hands all that well. Yet, when Pablo introduced me to all his co-workers, he said, "This guy here paints the most beautiful murals you have ever seen!"
Great. I hadnt even dipped my paintbrush into the paint, or rather, I hadnt even seen the stairwell yet and already I was being hailed as the greatest artist of our time. And if things couldnt get any more complicated, after showing me my three-story high canvas, Pablo started telling me about a class he was taking at the local, public cable access television station and asked if I would be willing to take the class with him. According to Pablo, I seemed like a natural television personality, so it only seemed right that I learn the innerworkings of how to produce, write, and direct a television show. Plus, he'd pay for the classes.
Again, I'd have to think it over. Could I really paint an honest-to-goodness mural? And if so, what would be the theme? It would obviously have to inspire people to excel in the arts, using their imagination and creativity, but was I really capable of inspiring people? And speaking of capabilities, was I really capable of being on television? Or was Pablo just pulling my leg? As I began to think about the possibilities of each request, another opportunity came my way. This time, from local writer, James Brook.
James Brook wrote a column for The Tucson Observer and had come across a sampling of my writing when I was had applied at the newspaper earlier this summer. He e-mailed me asking if I would be interested in writing a bi-weekly column for three months about life in Tucson, from a college student perspective.
Being a communications major, all four requests sound like the perfect opportunity to explore my options before I wake up one day, at the age of forty, with the bitter realization that I have wasted my life on a job I hate because I was forced to deside on a career in my early 20s. They say when opportunity knocks at your door, you should greet it warmly with wide open arms, and invite it in for coffee and pie. Ok, maybe "they" dont exactly say that, but that thought that is implied when that saying is said. But when you have numerous doors a-knockin' with opportunities, how do you know which door to open and which door to keep closed?
According to Madelaine this would be our chance to make our voices be heard around Tucson, with a ground breaking mix of heady talk, music and politics that would break up the mold and shake up the student booty. I mean, body. Well, depending on the music we played, the booty too, I guess. But Saturday mornings? I mean, what self-respecting college student was up at that time? But then again there was the experience and the fact that Oprah Winfrey got her start in entertainment by doing a small radio show.
Still, it was a request I had to think over before giving my final answer. I mean, radio personalities had to have fun and exciting lives. Would mine qualify enough to fill an entire three hour show? And while I was mulling over Madelaine's offer, I got another one.
Down the street, from Alice's Downtown Flower Market, was a community art school, called ArtFare, where one could learn how to draw, paint, sculpt, or even dance. And judging by the people who worked there, one would guess that one could learn the art of flattery there, as well.
His name was Pablo, and like the artist, he claimed to know good art when he saw it. And he claimed that the chalk drawings I drew on the shop board were just that. So good, in fact, he asked if I would come to ArtFare and paint a giant, larger-than-life mural on the three-story stairwell of their building. But I wasnt a professional artist. I was just your average, run-of-the-mill, sketch doodler who still hadnt mastered how to draw hands all that well. Yet, when Pablo introduced me to all his co-workers, he said, "This guy here paints the most beautiful murals you have ever seen!"
Great. I hadnt even dipped my paintbrush into the paint, or rather, I hadnt even seen the stairwell yet and already I was being hailed as the greatest artist of our time. And if things couldnt get any more complicated, after showing me my three-story high canvas, Pablo started telling me about a class he was taking at the local, public cable access television station and asked if I would be willing to take the class with him. According to Pablo, I seemed like a natural television personality, so it only seemed right that I learn the innerworkings of how to produce, write, and direct a television show. Plus, he'd pay for the classes.
Again, I'd have to think it over. Could I really paint an honest-to-goodness mural? And if so, what would be the theme? It would obviously have to inspire people to excel in the arts, using their imagination and creativity, but was I really capable of inspiring people? And speaking of capabilities, was I really capable of being on television? Or was Pablo just pulling my leg? As I began to think about the possibilities of each request, another opportunity came my way. This time, from local writer, James Brook.
James Brook wrote a column for The Tucson Observer and had come across a sampling of my writing when I was had applied at the newspaper earlier this summer. He e-mailed me asking if I would be interested in writing a bi-weekly column for three months about life in Tucson, from a college student perspective.
Being a communications major, all four requests sound like the perfect opportunity to explore my options before I wake up one day, at the age of forty, with the bitter realization that I have wasted my life on a job I hate because I was forced to deside on a career in my early 20s. They say when opportunity knocks at your door, you should greet it warmly with wide open arms, and invite it in for coffee and pie. Ok, maybe "they" dont exactly say that, but that thought that is implied when that saying is said. But when you have numerous doors a-knockin' with opportunities, how do you know which door to open and which door to keep closed?
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