DREAM WALL

GETTING MY FOOT IN THE DOOR

This week was a huge week for me! As it turned it out, I received an alert on my phone as I was leaving class last Monday night notifying me that one of my role models had left me an email. Dawn is a columnist for a major Chicago newspaper and someone whose work I've been following for at least three years. She asked if we could speak over the phone, and I let her know when the appropriate times to call me were. She hasn't gotten back to me as yet, but after leaving her another email today, I have no doubt that I will be talking to her soon. I'm just excited that she actually read my email to begin with, so the possibly that I might be talking to her and gaining some invaluable insights into the world of mainstream media has had me ecstatic all week.

I also discovered last weekend that Pioneer Press, a member of the Sun-Times News Group, has its headquarters in a neighboring town. I went in there on Tuesday, explained to them the circumstances of my visit, and got the opportunity to sit down with a gentleman who helped me set up a time that I could come in and talk to one of the contributing writers. We set up two days this week—Tuesday and Thursday—that I could come in a talk to a few people, so I'm both anxious and excited about that.

However, the biggest news came through my work in another class entirely. The events that transpired are so odd and random that my retelling might come out as a giant, confusing mess of a story, but I'll do my best to tell it.

I am enrolled in a Puerto Rican history class taught by Prof. Josè E. Lòpez. As part of the class, we are required to break off into groups of five or six and volunteer our time in the Puerto Rican community in and around the Humboldt Park neighborhood. My group concerns itself with cultural affairs, which has us dedicating some time to the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) at Division Street and Humboldt Boulevard. Anyway, a few weeks back, a friend of a friend friended me on Facebook. She told me that she worked in the administration offices at Pedro Albizu Campos High School (an alternative school located in the community), and I told her that I was volunteering a great deal of time at the Institute. She told me that her roommate worked at the Institute, a woman by the name of Jodene. To my surprise, Jodene is actually my supervisor! Not only that, I found out last week that my new Facebook friend, Marisol, is also an editor for the community's monthly publication, La Voz del Paseo Boricua. I asked her to visit my main blog, and after reading it, she told me that she would love for me to contribute to the La Voz. She already assigned me my first topic! I have to submit an article on a local cafè and community theater center by next Monday to have it published in next month's issue of La Voz!

I know that this isn't exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in this class. I realize that we're supposed to working more closely with our role models and whatnot, but doesn't my success story illustrate what we've been learning in our texts, namely, that our life paths rarely remain unaltered from their original course? Opportunities seem to surface in the most unlikely places and in the most unexpected ways, but when they do, we should run through that open door with as much fervor and commitment as we can muster.

I have moved more towards my dream in the past seven days than I have in the past seven years. Not only are my goals in life possible, they are more likely than ever! I can't wait to see what the upcoming weeks will have in store for me!

CONTACTING MY ROLE MODELS

Hector Luis Alamo, Jr.
I realize that the purpose of this week's assignment was to discuss the experience of interviewing two of the role models whose contact information we listed for last week's assignment. Although I did attempt to reach several of my contacts, I have yet to hear back from any of them, leaving me unable to blog about any exchange with them. Nevertheless, rather than not turning in anything, I thought I might write about my feelings about the whole task of contacting people who I admire and respect in the first place.

IN LIMBO
When I first learned that I would be asked to get in contact with the same people I've come to idolize, I filled with a great sense of excitement and anticipation. Who wouldn't jump at the chance at reaching out to one of his role models? However, when the time came, I was beset by an entirely different range of emotions. In all honesty, the act of simply attempting to get in touch with my role models has been utterly nerve-racking. As human beings, we tend to hold our role models in the highest regard, so much so that they possess an almost mythic status in our eyes; they're seemingly imaginary. Compound that with the fact that these people actually do what it is I want to do—and do it well. This only adds to the intimidation. Many people admire Muhammad Ali, even though they never aspire to be a boxer. Even still, trying to contact the Champ would make anyone weak in the knees. In this aspect, my emailing my role models—respected writers—is like any young boxer stepping into the same gym as Ali.

It's especially unsettling for me, given the fact that I aspire to be a respected columnist and all of my role models are just that. Many of my role models' sole method of public communication is through email, which means that I am forced to introduce myself to them in the same form
they've perfected: the written word. Not only do I dream to attain their heights, emailing them places myself in a position to be judged on my writing skills by experts in the field. Boxers judge other boxers based on their skills in the ring; writers judge others on their mastery of words, making any introduction that much more frightening.

If writing the emails was nearly torturous, the fact that those emails are already sent is proving to be much more excruciating. Just knowing that I will be receiving a response at any moment is gnawing away at my serenity. I will both relish and dread the moment my Outlook inbox indicates that one or more of my recipients have responded. Obviously, I'm looking forward to reading their responses and taking in the advice they lend me, but I think it's human nature to expect the worst, say, a disgruntled letter from a person who wants nothing to do with me.

Whatever the result of this attempt at furthering myself along on my life path, I'm certain it will offer something valuable to the end. Good or bad, encouraging or not, at least I'll be able to say that I tried to contact one of my heroes, someone doing the exact thing I want to do one day. In life, no step can be negative. The worst thing someone can do when chasing his dream is to do absolutely nothing at all. Any step taken is a step towards reaching that goal.