Here goes nothing

First things you need to know about me, my name is Lauren, I am a 17 year old girl, and I am only at the start of this crazy journey they call life! 

SO how did I get here to this exact point in my life? 

I thought I would use this introductory blog post to officially invite you into my head so you can gain a greater insight into who I am as a person, and to establish why I write the things I will write. I want to help you understand my perspective as I experience and learn about the big wide world. Therefore we can be on the same page when you read the things I post to you. (On a side note: I encourage you to comment on anything I post that you agree or disagree with, I am open for different perspectives!) 

So now for my story, I just finished high school on the Sunshine Coast, and much like a lot of the others in my position, I wasn't really sure where to go from here. To be honest with you, I am still quite unsure with what direction I am going. However I had heard great things about the University of Queensland so I thought this would be a good starting point. I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Anthropology and Journalism  & Mass Communication. (With my idea of a future, travelling and writing/reporting about human culture.) Plus I googled it, turns out there aren't that many anthropological journalists, or maybe I just didn't look hard enough. So maybe this will be my edge with journalism to stand out from all the other journalists. (It is a daunting thought how competitive journalism is) My two favourite subjects in high school were Modern History and Study of Religion, which I somehow topped the class of. (I guess what they say about thriving at something you are passionate about is true) so that is what lead me here. I discovered I had a passion for learning about people, and why and how things happened. I like discovering the deeper reasons and the different perspectives of the events and happenings of the world. I want to learn as much as I can about the cultures, and I want to offer others an insight into all that I learn, (hence where journalism comes into it) so that we can all gain greater knowledge, understanding and acceptance of the differences found in our world. This is my plan, and I hope to pursue the more cultural side of journalism, to be more then just a journalist who writes about sex, drugs, violence, power and death. (I'm sure a lot of people say the same thing, but still I'd like to believe I can be different). 

As of right now, I am finding it difficult to find my feet at University as it is such a big change from the safety net of high school. I know for a fact that this isn't just the case for me, but for a lot of newbies at uni this year. But this is apart of life, and about adapting to a whole new environment and learning to cope and learn everything we can from it. This aspect I assume  will occur plenty of times in my life if I plan to travel and mingle with the different cultures so I suppose I had better get used to it. Same with you, if you are going through a similar struggle with the transition. Remember you are not alone, and that you are learning so much from this experience. It teaches you to get out of your comfort zone, which is an important aspect for journalism, as to be the best, you might have to get out of your safety zone, talk to plenty of strangers, make your connections and to be okay with unfamiliar situations in order to get the better story, or to find the deeper levels and viewpoints of the stories. :) 

Anyways that is a little insight into how I got to this point. Throughout my other posts I'm sure you will learn lots more about me. Stay tuned for next time...

Kidding! I'm not that corny, but in all seriousness, I shall be updating this blog almost weekly.. (Mainly because we are assessed on doing so.. ;) but also I shall try and keep you updated with things I am interested in, whether that be stories, photos, interesting facts or just what is happening around the world that I have thoughts about. 

Goodbye for now! :)