This synopsis of myself as a member of The Spectrum staff was penned as Earl Scruggs' supreme version of "I Saw The Light" roared from my small cassette player into the early morning of summer near my home on the shores of Chadwick Bay.
Two years ago, I left this very same scene and shipped off to UB for the first time. I was very sad and confused about leaving a seemingly perfect 18 years in my hometown behind for a new city where I had no friends and no family. Like Scruggs, "I wandered so aimless," and I thought about leaving UB almost as soon as I arrived.
It was during my second semester as a freshman that I became a staff writer for The Spectrum. At first I struggled to bend to the rules of journalism, to work as a member of a team and to put in the hours of interviewing, planning and writing it takes to produce something worth reading. I didn't like it.
For whatever reason, I stuck around and did something that I don't normally do - I put my faith into The Spectrum. I put my faith into the paper itself, my colleagues and the people we write about.
This decision has changed my life for the better and sculpted my experience at UB into one I couldn't be happier with. Not only have I found a group of people I am honored to share an office with, I have gained invaluable experience by working all over Buffalo to cover events and write about the interesting people who work and live in this city.
Making The Spectrum my new home wasn't easy - it was my "dear savior" that I wouldn't let in. Still, "it came like a stranger in the night ... and I saw the light."
