The Island is Waiting

As someone who has wanted to experience the thrill of international journalism since I was in high school, I was excited to join the Florida FlyIns program at the UF College of Journalism and Communications.

But as the day we fly to Andros Island in the Bahamas approaches, my excitement is mixing with anxiety.

It's not because I'm afraid I will be mangled by a monster that prowls the jungle of a mysterious island in one of my favorite TV shows, Lost. Nor am I afraid of Andros' own version of the Loch Ness Monster, the Lusca.

What frightens me is the prospect that I will have to spend almost a week with a source and really delve into their humanity. I've never had to build and sustain a human connection with a source as long as I will for this trip. I grew familiar with many of the contacts I made as Multicultural reporter at the Alligator, but I never spent days following them around.

My best stories are complex and driven by strong characters, but I usually have many different sources and can choose which will provide the most powerful story for the article. But the island's population is so small and spread out, it will be difficult to do that again.

I like making an article have emotional depth, but, as a person with autism, it's hard to bond on that level or even stay in a source's presence for more than an hour.

But this story is different. I won't say what the story is, but it's much softer than what I'm used to writing. Prof. Mike Foley, who teaches reporting and other classes at the college, calls it an "extra credit story" that some people might not care about. I'm going to have to show the source's humanity by getting every little detail and exploring every niche of his personality to make people read the story.

And that terrifies me.

But then I realize that all those challenges are part of the art of the storytelling. And the task then don't seem as stressful. It turns into something more fun.

This blog will probably be on vacation until I get back to the United States. Have fun, everyone.