CHINA

As an aspiring journalist I am really struggling now. With the cyclone a few weeks ago and now the Earthquake that has claimed 12,000 to date with he tole steadily rising I have begun to ask myself can I do this job? Will I be able to hold back the tears as countless lifeless bodies of children are pulled from the rubble of what once was a safe place for them to be. The tiny frozen hand clutching the pencil as if the child was gong to write his next sentence when his life was so ruthlessly stolen from him? Should I have to hold back the tears when reporting on such a catastrophe? Is that healthy or even human? I am a very empathetic person. As I saw the mothers clutching the bodies of their now dead children I cried, and I felt a heart so sharp in my heart I thought I may be sick. But why as a journalist is that so wrong? Isn't the point of journalism to bring the facts to the world, to help people through print? So why should I have to leave out the pain I feel when such a horrific event occurs? I am a strong woman, I am independent, dependable, practical, timely, yet this struck a chord with me. I won't apologize for that and I am not sure I have to even if some of the old timers would believe differentially.