About an hour ago I was on the phone with Senator Simitian. We were chatting about the Kindergarten Readiness Act and he was explaining to me one of his colleague's opposing view of it.
Since so often I write on a very local scale, I forget that I can have a larger impact. I usually write about this local program or what the local board of educators is working on. Today made me feel important, like others out there value what I write.
Simitian has a million people to call, tons of legislation to work on, but had the time to spend twenty minutes on the phone with me. Why me? Because what I write impacts support for his work.
Sometimes I forget the power I have as a journalist. The most easily remembered feedback about my writing are the negative comments which oppose what I write. It is nice to know that people higher up, such as Simitian, read our paper as a way to keep in touch with the local community.
Hearing that made me proud, I help represent the local community. What I write has meaning to those who are in power politically. It is nice to remember that and makes me feel a little more important than say, writing about a new program at a local school.
