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Plan of Attack
By Jennifer BerginI remember very little from my frantic and dizzying first week of graduate school – and that’s probably a good thing.
I recall nothing of what was said on orientation day except this, “Don’t plan on sleeping. You’re only here for three semesters. You can sleep after that.” I can’t recall who said it or in what context, I only remember thinking to myself, “Three semesters? I thought this program was only a year.”
Oh yes, it was my first day of graduate school and I had no idea how long the program was. I didn’t bring a map of the campus. I was attempting to traipse all around Manhattan in heels. And, not only did I certainly plan on sleeping – I was half asleep at that very moment. As if that is not a shocking enough lack of foresight, I had not even planned for somewhere to live. I was “homeless” in New York City and about to immediately embark on my most intensive academic experience thus far.
I realize that I must seem completely irresponsible. I would like to attempt to defend myself by noting that I am obsessively organized. I make lists and organize my lists on post-its and then I color-coordinate the post-its. I can tell my mom precisely where to locate the most mundane of items in my childhood bedroom. I rarely forget things. Yet I am a classic procrastinator. My lists make me feel better, but I don’t actually do what is on them. And when my lists grow too long - I freeze. I can’t do anything. I become immobilized. I do not plan ahead – and this I would learn, was to be a major problem.
I came to NYU from a small town in upstate New York and brought nothing with me except one giant, orange suitcase. I had no apartment, but I did have a number of friends in the city. My “plan” was to sleep on their couches until I got a feel for the neighborhoods and found a place of my own. I did not anticipate being sent out to report stories and given deadlines during my first week of classes. I had imagined that we would have a period of “orientation” and practice elementary journalism fundamentals such as story structure and the inverted pyramid. No such luck.
Instead, I was told to go into the subway and interview a subway musician as one of my first assignments. I didn’t even know how to use the subway. I had no Internet access and got lost every time I tried to get from Queens to … anywhere. I did not realize that once the program began I would have no free time, let alone the amount of time it takes to find a livable apartment in New York City.
The final straw was when my wonderful and flamboyant friend Kevin, on whose couch I was crashing, had a “Project Runway” party in his living room the night before my first major deadline. There was endless Pinot Noir, incessant yelling at the TV and countless pausing for commentary, turning an hour-long television show into a five-hour drunken marathon. And they were on the couch - my bedroom! I did not sleep that night or many that followed. It was only then that I realized – I need a damn plan!
I eventually found an apartment. And as I realized the true joy of sleeping in a bed, instead of on an air mattress or a hand-me-down futon, I also realized the truth to the saying: Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. I quickly learned the importance of planning for your stories. You have to actually contact your sources in advance to set up an interview if you want to speak with them for an article you’re researching. I missed out on some great sources and even better stories, because I had not given a subject enough time to respond to my request for an interview. I realized that it’s pretty hard to get an author to talk to you about her new book, when she’s in the middle of a book tour and you call her the night before your deadline!
And in New York, it’s important to always have a Plan B. You must know exactly how to get to where you’re going, back-up routes to get there and take into consideration things like debris on the subway tracks slowing the A train, or you will be late, which I have been - to class, to interviews and to my internships. Most disastrous was when I was assigned to cover the New York City marathon – the finish line, and just kind of showed up. Well so did two million other cheering spectators and I couldn’t even see the finish line – let alone get close enough to get a good story.
As I look back on this year, I have one word of advice for new graduate students - plan. Plan for internships and apply early. Plan for this to fly by. Plan to question your talents and decisions and plan to write a story you love, only to hear your professor say, “so what?” Plan to stay up all night, not drinking but reworking a lead.
Plan to surprise yourself because you will.
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, Apr 26 2007, 12:22 PM EDT
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