The more I am a journalist, the more I embrace talking to strangers. You grow up learning don’t talk to strangers. I do the opposite almost every day. I approach people with a smile, hoping they don’t think I dangerous or creepy. Regardless, I feel like a creeper.

Take today for instance; I walked around stalking book bags. I am working on an article about how people use them. So I strolled up to about 10 different unsuspecting students. And to make me look even more out of place and strange, I was carrying a scale. A turquoise bathroom scale that I used to weigh the individual bags.

I enjoy learning about people though. So asking if I can investigate their life for a few minutes is thrilling, not nerve wracking anymore. I don’t look very threatening so I think that helps people feel at ease with me. After probably the hundredth random interview, you get over any chance of it being too awkward. If I am going to find sources and make my stories happen, I have to step inside the bubbles students put around themselves while they are chilling on Wescoe Beach.

So today it was weighing book bags on the cement on a warm, sunny day. Next month, I could be avoiding the cold and wandering around building looking for potential sources. It is a never-ending scavenger hunt. What excites me the most is that this is my job. In the future I want to write stories and find the real people I am writing about. The most original stories come from the random interviews. The stories take you places you can’t ever imagine. Thank goodness, I don’t want journalism to get boring.

(This is piece from earlier in the year. I have a few more of them I am going to share with you in the future. I hope you enjoy my 10 minute writings.)