Services
Background
Hello everyone! My name is Haben. I was born in a small rural town in Ethiopia called Debrebrehan and immigrated to the United States when I was seven years old. The media played a big role in my immigration story because of how America was depicted as a land of opportunity and social mobility. Whether it was the news or just a family conversation over coffee, everyone was always infatuated with the American dream. My parents were always ambitious and educated. While the political, social, and economic climate of Ethiopia was rather unstable, my parents decided that moving across the world would provide us an opportunity to have a higher quality of education, create more success, and dream bigger. As my parents juggled several jobs and managed to navigate their careers, I saw the American dream unfold before my eyes. Although I now understand that the concept is a facade, my parents have found a way to visualize, manifest, and actualize their dreams. They made it possible for me and my siblings to continue a legacy. One where we circumvent a life of generational poverty.
Currently
I spent most of my life in Maryland, going to various PWIs. Although I didn't phenotypically comport to my environment, I derived a sense of hope and belonging from my academic strengths. I joined many clubs such as debate teams, youth, and government, mock trials, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, musicals, etc. I adapted many skills and learned how to be an active community member which are all things I deeply value. I'm now a senior at the Univerity of Maryland, majoring in criminology/ criminal justice. In my free time, I enjoy singing, songwriting, fashion and jewelry design, weight lifting, painting, and nail art. I believe every person should strive to be active, healthy, and creative so I prioritize these hobbies as a part of my wellness. Out of all of my hobbies, however, I'm most attached to my vocal talent, because it doesn't have any limitations or language barriers. While I have never received formal training, it has allowed me to express myself in such a primal and authentic manner over the years.
My favorites
Although I have a plethora of interests and hobbies, writing has always been a passion of mine. Some pieces of writing that sparked my ardor include "The Perils of Indifference" by Elie Weisel and my favorite book of all time, " The Stranger" by Albert Camus. These powerful media pieces depict the profound implications of how words are conceptualized and presented. Regardless of the intention of the author, I believe that all media essentially is a form of art. Art is a space of expression, creativity, and interpretation. Therefore, whether through consumption or creation, we are all contributing to this space, ultimately making statements through art and media in the ways we choose to live our lives.
Journalism
In this course of journalism, I'm hoping to learn a lot about ways to refine my writing. Though I am aware of the difficulties in remaining impartial I'm curious to learn how writing can impact emotions and interpretations, and what role does storytelling have in blogs? Additionally, d like to learn how media impacts public perception and inspires things such as social justice movements.
------------------
Extra credit reflection
At the beginning of the semester, I’d mentioned in this very blog that I was interested in how journalism interprets or impacts an audience's emotions, especially because it seemed a lot like storytelling to me initially. However throughout my journey in this course I’ve gained such an admiration for this form of expression. This was especially apparent to me once I started analyzing the policy aspect of journalism. Not only is journalism a means to communicate, its also an instrument of investigation, collaboration, and most importantly truth. Our class readings and weekly discussions definitely played a big role in this, particularly during the units of the publishing industry, persuasive communication, media ethics, mass communication, and public communication. This not only helped me contextualize journalism through a historical lens, but also the political objectives and biases that tainted it into divergence from being that 4th branch of government it was originally intended for. It also helped me understand why polarization is seemingly intensified through types of unmediated communication that occurs online.
Another highlight of this class for me was recognizing how powerful journalism can be as a catalyst for social movements. Although I had discussed this in my earlier post, I never considered that until units like visual storytelling, where I specifically talked about immigration and immigration policy, but pictures and journalism can truly magnify and unify so many communities around issues like black lives matter, or women’s rights. On the other hand, later topics like media accessibility and foreign influence also brought to my attention that freedom of expression is actually restricted everywhere to varying degrees.
Although Journalism isn’t what it should necessarily be, especially with the politicization and control of major corporations, I still believe it holds a lot of power and when anchored properly with people who dedicated and carry a courage of conviction towards truth, it can be an incredible industry promoting art, storytelling, education, and even accountability.
Add comment
Comments