"Lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip it's been."

I thought that quote from the Grateful Dead song "Truckin'" was an appropriate way to describe this week covering my first political convention, and it definitely has been both a long and strange trip, but one I have thoroughly enjoyed.

In college, we were all told how little money we'd be making in the journalism industry if we even could find a job in the first place.  So for a 23-year-old barely more than a year out of school to have the opportunity to cover the Republican National Convention is a privilege and I had every intention of covering this thing as best I could.  Never would I have thought Id' be covering it for the number one News/Talk radio station in the country (it's a fact, look it up).

Before I left last week, WOKV anchor Jeremy Ratliff warned me that I wouldn't be getting much sleep over the course of the week.  He attended BOTH political conventions in 2008.  Being a twenty-something who has always been a night owl and operated on little sleep, I didn't really think it would be too much of a problem for me.  I could never have imagined how wrong I'd turn out to be.  Covering a political convention as a reporter is an experience unlike anything else I've ever done.  I don't think I've ever spent a week where I literally was going 100 miles an hour every second of every day.  Just this morning, I had the chance to look back over the course of the week and see the scores of all the Red Sox games.  As expected, I was not pleased with what I saw.

I understand now why Jeremy tried to give me a hint of an idea of how busy the week would be, but I have a feeling he didn't let on much more than that because he wanted me to see for myself.  I'd say now that this was the most physically and mentally exhausting four day stretch of my life thus far, but it's the kind of thing on which we reporters thrive.

Take Jamie, for example.  He and I were laughing just last night about how 5 hours of sleep on a normal night is a blessing for us.  Jamie is always focused and on task, but as I looked at him I could see the tired in his eyes.  I knew it wouldn't get to him though.  Jamie is a pro.  I now understand that sleep deprivation is just part of the territory when it comes to covering an event like this, but I could never have imagined just how tiring this would be to my body and mind.  I found that while I was here, work just consumed me.  I was always thinking ahead to the next story I had to write, person I had to interview, or place I had to be to make sure I got the pictures or video or audio I would need for whatever story I was writing.  Then there's the whole writing, editing, uploading, process, which also takes some time, and takes even more time if your internet connection is shoddy.

RNC 2012 was an experience, and one that I wouldn't have traded for anything.  I can make up the lost hours of sleep and catch up on my Red Sox anytime.  But these conventions come along once every four years, and not just anyone gets to pick up a microphone and go cover one.  Now, with that said, I'm not necessarily upset that I'm not covering the Democratic National Convention next week.  I'm needed back in the WOKV newsroom anyway, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of an experience reporter Stephanie Brown will have in Charlotte.  

In a world where many people my age, some who graduated with me from journalism school, can't find a job because they're just not out there, I feel lucky every day that not only do I have a job, but it's one where I get to talk to people and tell stories, and that's why I got into this game in the first place.  I always ask people how they feel when they're the first person to tell someone breaking news.  For me, watching others reaction when I tell them something breaking they didn't already know was so cool...the way their eyes light up and jaws often drop as they clamor for more information.  I live to tell stories and do my best every day to bring you the most important ones.  When those stories bring me to the precipice of American politics, the national convetions, it's just that much better.  Because the reality is we were trained to work long, strange hours, sometimes for days at a time.  We know coming into the field of journalism that you probably won't end up with a 9 to 5 desk job.

I hope you've enjoyed following my adventures through the week and, as always, I welcome your questions or comments.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a three hour drive back to Jacksonville, because there's a bed in my apartment with my name on it.