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Show A Year of Change (,,'. - . ' I i . - J , 1 ' ' t ; : 11 '.: ., t , r. ' .- . "For Your Self" was always another way of saying, "For Your Information" or "For Your Just Plain Enjoyment." It was a column that ran faithfully once a week in the ArtsEntertainment section of the Signpost except for the one time when there was an over abundance of campus information and a limited amount of room in which to cram everything. During February 1987, I was surprised when I found out "For Your Self" had won a Utah Press Award. I was flattered, yet startled, too, after knowing the column had competed with every Utah newspaper with a circulation of 5,000 or more. The column itself was an idea I'd had since I'd started writing and had known that such a thing existed. My eagerness to start one of my own grew more intense each time I would read my monthly issue of Glamour magazine. Columns such as "On Your Own," by Sally Helgesen and "Job Strategies," by Marilyn Moats Kennedy impressed me. Their style of writing compelled me to strive for a style of a similar genre. Through their clever mix of stories, statistics and "hard" information, they were able to stir incredible imagination and interest in my mind as well (I'm almost sure) as in the minds of many others. They both scooped that human interest level a level that is crucial to scrape in writing for the general reader. Crucial because it depends on whether the reader will understand and personally relate with what the writer is saying. Indeed, these columnists encouraged me (perhaps unconsciously) to pursue a career in writing through their own subtle ways. I have always wanted to write books (for I love to write). But when I entered college and discovered that I could write everyday on a job, I jumped joyfully into the field of journalism. Now I was content with knowing what direction to follow throughout the rest of my life: researching, investigating, learning and writing! I remember reading the Signpost as I sat one day as a freshman in the Union Building here on campus. I wondered how hard it would be to initiate a feature column if I were on the staff. "How hard would it be to even get on the staff," I thought. One day during the winter of 1986, I decided to dive into it. I walked into Larry Stahle's office (he's the Signpost advisor), told him a few of my goals and my desire to work as a staff reporter. Things took off from there. After working extremely hard, I was made ArtsEntertainment Editor that summer. In the fall of that same year, I was excited as I ran my first column in the first issue we published. What was the article about? Of course: "Female Finesse Flames for Fall Fashion Funanza." In addition to the fashion classes I have taken here on campus, I have studied fashion since I opened my first fashion magazine, Seventeen, at age 12. Since the perfect time for talking fashion is traditionally in the fall, I took advantage of the opportunity and wrote one article aimed toward women and another geared for men. My purpose was to satisfy the many fashion conscious-people, for fashion had rarely (if ever) been given any play in the paper. My column on "Fitness: How to get (and stay) motivated," received tremendous favorable feedback. In a way, I think I was surprised to discover that I had hit a target market (majority of people interest) as large as it really was. In addition to having studied health, fitness, and nutrition for a number of years, I interviewed several dedicated members at the spa. When I wrote the article, I combined stories, statistics and information, then pasted the story across two pages and around four action-packed photos taken of weight lifters and aerobic dancers doing their stuff. The two-part series on accupressure came as a result of my mother's experience with back pain. When she came home one day to tell me it had been relieved through accupressure, my first response was, "What a great article idea!" From there, I investigated. Another two-part series emerged as I started writing the column on "How to Become a Better Listener" where I found there was more information than one column could encompass. I related personal experiences of times when I have seemed to be deaf to the consequences that inevitably followed. I also told of my charming friend (whose secret, I'm sure, is the ability to listen), and I gave masses of interesting information. "What Flavor Is Your Character?" was a whimsical article looking at the relationship of one's personality and one's favorite flavor of ice cream. This article was filled entirely with personal examples from the many people I interviewed, and it had nothing to do with factual information. When John T. Molloy (author of best seller, Dress For Success) came to WSC last fall to speak at a convocations, he spoke about the new book he would be publishing at the first of the year (1987). He revealed fresh insight and information that would be contained in his new book and I, the craving-every-detail reorter, took four full pages of notes. From there, I expanded upon the several things I have bee1" learning from success and career-oriented publications (as well as, of course, Glamour magazine's "Job Strategies") and I wrote the Feb. 19 article on "How To Market Yourself For Success." The raves this particular article won were perhaps the most revelent of any "For Your Self" article. Here, again, I found I had hit a target market larger than I had suspected. "What Is This Green Thing Called 'Envy'?" was yet another two-part series combining stories, interviews and information. The article appeared with expressive pictures and unique graphic art which I had asked my father to do (he drew the incredible hulk who appeared to be punching a hole through the page). Other topics I covered throughout the year included stress, integrity, wardrobe building, sleep, music, etc. Around every holiday, I conducted student surveys in which I asked questions that pertained to each holiday's mood. For example: What is your New Year's resolution? The evolution of my picture box logo above my headlines was a continuing process in order to achieve professional perfection. It also came as a result of not being able to find it on occasional production days. The logo came up missing several times for reasons unknown. This year (1986-87) was the year I had intended to slightly transform the ArtsEntertainment pages into more of a Lifestyle-type section. My "For Your Self" column helped me achieve this. I am hoping this is not the end of my column writing experience, for it was very gratifying. In any event, I plan to write forever. Writing is always another way of saying that you're sharing what you're discovering with others or ... that you're just plain entertaining them. Yaaaawwwnnn! This is no way to listen, according to a "For Yourself" column written last winter quarter. Many of the "For Yourself" columns this year have featured controlling basic human habits and feelings. The jealousy illustrated here was dealt with in depth by column writer Tanja Schaffer. ' f ' lfj few. , y, - 1 .? Tanja Schaffer SignOff Tuesday, June 2, 1987 19C |