Why I Decided to Stop Being Trendy

I gave up on journalism and the endless pursuit to be cool and on top of the trends about three years ago and I don't regret it . . . until now. Well, I regret one thing.

Let me explain. This might be rambling with lots of sentences that begin with "and". Sorry, Sara.

Journalism was a big part of my life. I got my degree in Journalism from Hardin-Simmons (last of a dying breed), I was totally devoted to high school and college newspaper, and after I got out of school I created a start-up web mag for a start-up internet provider in Abilene (which is barely hanging on last time I checked). My current career path has me firmly planted at the local newspaper as the Graphic Design Supervisor of the ads that run in the paper each day.

Read that back. Graphic Design Supervisor. Nowhere in that job title does it state that I have anything to do with writing.

And there's a good reason for that. I lost my passion for it. I think I blame Fox News for it . . .

Now of course, you are probably saying "That's a terrible copout, hippie" and you're right, but here's the deal. During my tour of duty in college, I worked at my father's appliance shop doing odd jobs and maintaining the store for extra money. What channel did we have it tuned to since A) people were still freaking out over crappy 9/11 and B) what channel did everyone get their "news" from since we were about to elect a president? Exactly. Fox News.

Everything I learned in my journalism classes about ethics, class and grace did not apply one bit. Journalism was replaced with talking heads and tickers at the bottom of the screen. Integrity was replaced with sensationalism.

I saw this start on Fox News and witnessed the bleedover into newspapers, online reporting, even into terrible books on the shelves (sup, Michael Savage). I kind of felt . . . crushed. I was just a nerd who loved discovering music, videogames, the San Antonio Spurs, and wrestling. I truly felt there was no outlet for me in this changing media world. Sure, there are niche websites out there I could right for, but nothing I could A) do what I loved or B) get a paid for (gotta make that paper, booboo). I felt locked out and didn't feel like I would ever find my place in this new world.

So, I gave up. I decided to focus on graphic design instead; journalism be damned. I was done . . . and being overdramatic, of course, but done nonetheless. I wanted no part of it.

Quiting writing also caused a falling out in another spectrum.

I used to think of myself on the cusp of what was cool and breaking. However after I quit writing I discovered that I was burning through money quickly and for what? To have the latest movies, latest games. There was this constant need to be on top of everything; I wanted to be that friend that everyone came to because I had the coolest things.

Sad and pathetic, right? With nothing creative to fuel my purchases (writing), there was no need to buy all this needless . . . well let's be real, material shit. And my personal credit card bill will attest to this (we call that the "Jason's student loan payment").

So I've stopped that. And thank God, too, I'm married now and I doubt the missus would appreciate "New DVD Tuesday" if that meant we didn't pay, you know, rent.

And while I have surpressed that need to be cool, I am starting to redevelop another need . . . see where I'm heading . . . I'm more predictable than Chad Kroeger.

I've been doing Graphic Design full-on for a good four years now and all it's getting me is a fat ass and arthritis. And since my job has changed drastically over the past few months, that won't be changing. I have this desire to write again, to get serious about the graphic novel and comics, and just to start doing more journalistic endeavors. I would prefer not to do graphics for the rest of my life and this is my chance to work on this new career goal.

This blog will help me do that. This will by not means be a blog where I comment on new trends by any stretch, but it will have me commenting on the things that are tickling my fancy, random brain chatter, and just a reason to keep the writing bug going strong. That's a challenge to myself.

So go ahead, follow, comment, whatever - encouragement will be nice :) This will be quite rambling and delusional.

And with that I leave you with Shiner.