So, I’m on the net, outside my smallish circle of friends/acquaintances/people I’ve never met on facebook, and the ‘retweeting’ (with added hashtags) I do on Twitter (50 followers, woo!). To me it seems a little too egocentric to put my thoughts up on the net, and even more so to assume that people will read it. But lo, I’ve created this blog in anticipation of the fact that someday I’ll be doing something interesting, and then you’ll all want to know about it.
So, quick intro: I’m a first year Bachelor of Journalism student at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. I was born in the U.S. to a Dutch tomato grower and an Australian nurse, and have lived in Australia since I was five. Last year (2010) I took a gap year after finishing high school and travelled for 8 months through Europe and the Middle East. I had the greatest time of my life, and my experiences there, particularly those in the Balkans and Middle East, have affected me deeply. I dream now of travelling to the most remote, unexplored, and (let me be frank) craziest places the planet has to offer as a freelance journalist. Why freelance? Well, a foreign correspondent’s gig would be sweet, but everyone wants to be one of those, and you’ve therefore got to be reeeaaally good. And I honestly don’t want to spend years working up through the ranks and running the ratrace. I’ll forfeit the financial security in exchange for some fun.
All this sounds like it’s coming from an idealistic 20 year old first year student, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Humour me for a while, and if you’ve got any tips leave a comment.
So this blog will be a place for me to practice (‘practise’ with an ‘s’?) my writing and analysis of political events and whatever takes my fancy. At times it’ll function as a travel blog for my friends and family back home. I don’t seriously expect anyone to read it just now, but if you stumble across it, humour me.