My relationship with news is much like a crush. I really like the idea of him, I think about him a lot, I want to know more about him - but I'm terribly shy, under informed and feel that what he does and thinks about is far too mature for me. I don't really know him well enough to commit my feelings, and I'm a bit nervous about changing that because I don't want to be disappointed.
The New York Times: my parents have been receiving and reading it since before I was born. They have the various sections that they each like (Thursday and Sunday are the two they argue the most over sharing). The business and technology sections are my fathers choices; my mother smittenly reads the style, art and the ‘New York’ sections. I asked my parents once, when I was significantly younger, why they read the Times, and every day? Why not Fosters? and every day? Anything important that happens would be posted on Twitter way before the Times arrives the next morning. My father scorns at Fosters for being “too local” - and really seems to believe that the Times is the creme de la creme. Whether or not that opinion is true or fair, I realized it’s not just the information they’re after. And I love that. For my dad, it’s walking down the driveway at 7:30 on a brisk, hazy Sunday morning to get the paper. It’s clipping out the highlights from fashion week in Milan and reading Mark Bitman’s caustic opinions that my mom devotes an hour or two after dinner to. They've moved way beyond a crush - it's not awkward or scary anymore. It's expected and down to a routine, they're in a long-term relationship and rely on each other.
That is what I want from my crush: I want him to be perfectly enlightened in an un-intimidating way. I want him to be supportive and open to what I believe, but also push me to think outside the box and my comfort zone. I want to fall totally head over heels in love with this idealistic and wonderful “thing” - but I honestly do not know how to even tell him I exist.
I’ve tried. I do like National Public Radio, but I can really only listen to it when I’m driving, and I rarely do that while in school. Every spare moment of my time feels devoted: class, homework, practicing 20- 30 minutes of yoga per day, running 3-miles a day, riding my horse when I have an extra hour, nannying/tutoring French 6 hours a week, and sleeping on top of that. Granted, having a busy schedule is not an excuse, if I wanted to change I would find a way. I make time to exercise every day because of the release it gives me from the stressors of school - reading the newspaper should be like that. I’ve heard that a habit takes 10 days to form, mine starts tomorrow. 30 minutes: just me and pages and pages of Times New Roman.
Technology hasn’t made seeking news out any easier. This is unfortunate because that means that it really is me that is the issue, not the medium I’ve been receiving it. Podcasts, iPhone, iPad, Safari, I think I’ve tried them all. It’s becoming more and more apparent that I really just need to make the effort to just do it. Print newspapers are dwindling, sadly. I don’t think it’s all bad though - it means that the industry is growing. Expanding and advancing and embracing the changes of the world we live in - it’s a beautiful thing, really. I’m very excited for it.
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