The coolest thing about being a journalist is that you're constantly on alert for finding a story. And the even cooler thing about being a journalist, is that you always find one. Even when you aren't searching for one or your "journalism brain" is turned off, there's something to discover. There's something to learn. The hard part with it then is following up with it. But ultimately, you have the power to report the story for not only what it is, but what it has the potential to be.
A few days ago, one of my best friends, Emily, shared a link on my Facebook wall. The link was to a mutual favorite band of ours, Needtobreathe, singing a song called, "Washed by the Water." The song is about cruelty in the world and with every possibility to drown in the evil surrounding you, something beautiful happening instead.
Last night I was spending some one-on-one time with Emily. It looked pretty similar to how our friend dates usually go; driving around, loud music, a trip to Target and of course, a doughnut from QuikTrip. Earlier in the car, we had been listening to the version of "Washed by the Water" that she introduced me to.
We were almost to QuikTrip, still jammin' to Needtobreathe when that's exactly what we had to pull over to do. Being the appropriate amount of dramatic, while trying not to scare my mom more than what she was, I will say this: we barely avoided a head-on collision. The other car was going probably 20 over the speed limit and was in our lane when there was no reason for them to have been. It was terrifying. We savored our doughnuts.
We had to do something spontaneous after that. Though we were fine, those kind of situations get you thinking. We decided to go take a little dip in a fountain. Fully clothed. I had only planned on putting my legs in, doing the bare minimum to still say I did it. Before I was even completely in, I was already ready to get out; the water was cold. Then Emily found humor in splashing me. By the end of it, I was pretty soaked, head to toe. She looked at me and smiled. "You're washed by the water," she said.
On the way home from dropping her off, I couldn't stop thinking about the night. There was a story in whoever was driving way too fast and being in the wrong lane. There definitely would have been a story if it had turned into a car wreck. But apart from both of those things, there was still a story.
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