Writing Buddy Meeting #1

I met with my writing buddy Faris Al-Hashimi on Friday March 4 at Union Court. The meeting was mostly introductory; I found out he was a senior Political Science major who wanted to go into journalism and was taking 621 to get some kind of background with it. He has been writing for TNH for a while though. He is originally from Oman, and is planning on moving back there once he is out of school. I asked him how 621 was going, and about any issues he might be having with the class, or the subject matter, or his own experiences in writing. He said that his biggest issue was coming up with story ideas, which I told him I could totally relate to. I gave him advice on where to look for stories. We then started talking about a story that he had coming up that week, which was on the lack of a Upper-level Arabic class. We talked about what sources he had spoken to, and who he might want to try and get in touch with. We made plans to get in contact after spring break so I could sit down and look at some of his writing. Overall, I think it was a great experience, because I think it helped him realize that some of his insecurities about the class were very universal, and it felt good for me to be able to impart some wisdom about journalism at UNH. Although it is a little intimidating to edit someone's work who is older and with more life experience, I think that it was a good lesson for me to learn. Even though I may feel insecure and out of place doing so, I need to recognize my own confidence as an editor, since I am taking the class and learning about editing in depth. This is something I am going to try to work on next time Faris and I meet.