Post 1: And so it begins...

My name is Katie Watson, in case anyone reading this doesn't actually know me.

I am a junior journalism major here at the beautiful Biola University. And I have set out on an endeavor for my Intro to Mass Communications class to blog on a very regular basis about one of my favorite topics -- politics.

I will be moving to Washington, D.C. for the summer in one month and five days (and counting), so I decided this class project would be an excellent excuse to analyze one of my favorite hobbies -- government. 

If I weren't a journalism major, I probably would have gone into politics. In fact, that was on my list of top three majors when I decided halfway through my fall freshman semester as an English major that reading and teaching English for the rest of my life would make me want to jump off a cliff. Thankfully, I was rescued from that ledge. =p

But seriously, politics have always been an interest of mine. I want to make a difference in this world, and I thought that was one way I could have done it. However, I have always and will always love writing. That, I decided, was my passion, and everything else had to follow behind.

Luckily, journalism can encompass just about any hobby, pastime or interest. Instead of actually doing politics, I can write about them. Instead of actually going into criminal law, I can write about justice. Instead of actually being a dusty old historian, I can write about history. To me, journalism is the best of both worlds because you can become an expert about just about anything just through researching it and interviewing the experts.

And that is how I intend to pursue both my interest in politics and my love for writing. 

Let's see if it works. =p This summer will really be a testing time for me to see if political writing is actually something I want to do. I used to be completely positive it was the beat for me, but after delving into in-depth crime and feature stories, in addition to a slew of general assignments, I really have no idea at the moment. And the trouble is, my current job in journalism takes up so much of my time (40 hours a week) on top of my 17 units, that I haven't had nearly as much time to keep up with politics as I should. I can't even remember then names of the three people on the short list!

But since I will be writing about all this in summer, I figured I'd give myself a bit of a crash course. So forgive me if I'm not as knowledgeable as you expected. Believe me, if I had time to breathe almost, I'd be more read up on everything.

But like I said, this is my excuse.

So here it goes!

(Disclaimer: I am a conservative Republican. I try to be as objective as possible and look at things from outside the confines of my current spectacles, but that isn't always possible. And to burst your bubble, there is no such thing as completely objective journalism. There just isn't. Ask me why and I'd be more than happy to explain it to you. 

Signing off for now,

                            Katie