I've always been a fan of talent reality shows. The early days of American Idol were the early days of my teenage years. I became fascinated with the fact that young people from small towns could go after their dreams by being on one of these reality shows. It was relatable and as a kid, I had a dream of being famous.
My best friend and college roommate met in an unconventional way. We were both super fans of American Idol, but more so the relationship that Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul shared together on camera. We met each other on a fan site where we would exchange our theories of what was going on at the set and all the latest pictures and gossip.
Ericca and I in the Radio Mitchell Studio, Fall 2011
Ericca and I got the chance to meet in 2010 after my family vacationed in Colonial Williamsburg. We spent three days together and have the most cherished memories from our little visit with each other. In the fall of 2011, Ericca came to college with me in New London, CT.
Earlier that summer, Ericca and I spent every waking moment together. We traveled constantly to see each other. We also were fortunate enough to receive tickets to attend tapings of X Factor USA, a new talent show that had our original loves, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, as judges.
The two days at Prudential Center in the summer of 2011 were some of my the best of times. I was with so many of my friends and we got to enjoy capitalizing on being able to see our two favorite people in one place, all together. I still have photos and videos saved on my computer from those two days and they are priceless.
When Ericca and I started school in Fall 2011, we started out the semester with a bang and joined Radio Mitchell. The little college radio station was the first exposure I had to the radio industry and I loved it. Our first show together, the Reality Rundown, was a recap of weekly reality shows and the different things that happened on all of them. You can bet that we discussed X Factor USA every week.
Ericca and I with Paula Abdul, October 2016
Later that semester, we were contacted by a producer of the official X Factor USA online preshow. The preshow wanted to feature us via Skype. We were asked to present about our weekly radio show. The team at the show had heard about us and we were able to go live from our studio to discuss what we did with our radio show! It was the first time I truly felt like my name was in lights.
It was such a cool experience to be featured on the online preshow. We were both really excited and loved the experience. After we were featured, the producers sent us a nice gift box with swag from the show. I never thought I'd see the day that my passions could collide like it did when we did the preshow. Just another perk of the field of journalism I guess!
Since then, I have had so many moments in my career where my passions have collided. I never thought I'd get to talk to olympic gymnastics champions or find a way to cover an entire concert tour. This field truly works in mysterious ways!
Signing off,
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