I think that I have mentioned impostor syndrome before, and how I have acute experiences with it from time to time. And not just professionally. I’ve been to school functions for my kids and found myself wondering why I was there, feeling that I absolutely did not belong, like I was a complete and total fraud. I’m not sure why that happens. Maybe it’s because deep down I still “feel” like a dorky 16-year-old kid most of the time.
I know that I’m good at my job, but I still get that feeling at work sometimes. Like I’m just “playing” reporter…that it’s all an act, and that I write decently enough to keep people fooled.
Well, today I am happy to report (ha ha) that I felt like the real deal. This day could have kicked my ass, but it turns out that I kicked right back. I’m so fried right now that I have to look back at the software I use to post my articles to retrace the steps of my day.
First point: there was a big winter storm headed our way. That’s always a big deal here. I mean…it’s kind of a big deal anywhere, but people get especially worked up about it in Northwest Arkansas. Our meteorologists had been telling everyone for days that we were going to get hit with big, wet snowflakes that would accumulate. Half an inch here is enough to get school canceled sometimes—and that’s not a joke. This storm was looking like half a foot or more.
Yesterday I did a story about road crews pretreating the roads—one of our reporters grabbed an informative interview with a rep from the Department of Transportation. This morning, I grabbed bits and pieces from a couple of different sources like the Red Cross and AAA and wrote an article with tips and suggestions for driving safely in the snow…which is something that many Arkansans are in dire need of, from my experience.
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