It has begun.

Here it is, the summer blog that will continue to document my journalism journey since I left off at a random point last year.

Or something like that.

I'm in Las Vegas with my family for my 10 day vacation before I start my internship at the Reno Gazette-Journal. I'll be a city desk reporter and I'll (hopefully) get to know the area that I've been living in a little better.

So, a little more about me - I'm a 19-year-old journalism student at the University of Nevada. I used to be a fantastic student, according to my high school graduation program. That has changed (though I'm not awful now, I just don't get straight A's anymore) since I found myself working for The Nevada Sagebrush almost two years ago now.

What I've found is I've learned more from on-the-field reporting - whether it's a sleeping in a box for the night, sitting at a crime scene or following a cop around during a football game - is more valuable than, dare I say it, a Powerpoint multimedia presentation and Web site I made for one of my journalism classes. I've learned more crying at my desk on a production night when it's approaching deadline than being told by professors that I need to understand the concept of deadline when I turn in an assignment late.

So here's to a summer of writing and reporting, of learning more about the field that has become more of a calling than a career.

And probably a summer of bitching and complaining too.