My Journey(lism): I didn't realize I was interested in telling people's stories until moving to Paris for my freshman year of college. Paris is a large, vibrant city, filled with rich history, culture, diversity and a seemingly endless amount of people. What many don't understand until living there, is that although it may seem impossible to establish a sense of community with people who don't share the same language or culture as you, as humans we all share the innate need to connect with each other.
With no prior practice in film making, I enrolled in a upper division documentary filmmaking class and was faced with the difficult task of interviewing people I had never met and who didn't speak my language. As an introvert, this was no easy task. For my first assignment I was sent to find a person on the street and simply have them introduce themselves on film. I was terrified. Video camera in hand and butterflies in my stomach, I targeted a young Parisian woman exiting the metro, I went up to her and with a simple "Bonjour", and in broken French, I asked her to introduce herself to the camera. To my ashtonishment, she obliged. After shakily capturing the footage, I replayed it on my camera. I saw the beauty of how people open up to you when you are allow them to witness your own vulnerability and humanity.
Ever since then I have been hooked on journalism, because I have found that every person in life has a unique and beautiful story just waiting to be told.
Now, as a USC Journalism student, I look forward to finding these people and telling their stories through the beautiful, multifaceted mediums of journalism.
Last year, I was pushed outside of my comfort zone in order to get the stories I wanted and interviewed with people from all walks of life. I met and interviewed gang interventionists in Inglewood, Japanese Kubuki dancers in Gardena, street vendors on Olvera Street, graffiti artists and taggers in Downtown Los Angeles, mothers of gang members in South Los Angeles, police officers, professors, and even politicians. Just as I had learned on the streets of Paris, I was able to meet people and hear the stories of their lives, careers and families. What is more, able to compile their interviews into works of journalism.
Here are a few of my favorite stories from last year:
Graffiti in Los Angeles: Art or Vandalism?
Inglewood's Dangerous Dichotomy: The Decision between Graduation or a Gang
The future of journalism is ever evolving and I feel fortunate to go to a school that embraces and celebrates these changes by providing us with the tools, instruction and support to collaborate and create new content. I am excited to continue my journey of storytelling through journalism at USC and take what I have learned from my time at USC into the future.
Caleigh Rae Wells, USC Journalism Student
Twitter: @caleigh_wellsMedium: @caleigh_wells
Instagram: @crw.journeylism