second year jennings brooks

I have a sweet tooth for candy-coated news. You know, the kind that tries to appease all points of view. It may seem kind of ironic for a journalism major, but HARD NEWS is simply not my cup of tea. Some call me unrealistic, perhaps a romanticist, but I love to look at the world with sickly sweet optimism (AKA that feeling when you eat one too many pixie sticks).

I think that too often we forget that as people, we have backstories. We never hear about the prelude to someone’s incident that provokes the spotlight. It is important to remember that at the core essence of our humanity, there is good. Maybe that’s why I choose to believe so hopelessly in our world; why I’m drawn to stories that play to all sides. Because who is to say that a serial killer didn’t have daddy issues? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pro-serial killer, but I think that to be the most empathetic versions of ourselves, we have to paint a fuller picture of those we ostracize.

I think that many of us have to admit we are drawn towards the sugar coated parts of life. No matter how painful and perplexing this world can be, it’s so much more comforting to believe in the good of humanity.

But terrible things do happen - often.. Am I lying to myself to believe in humanity’s inherent good nature? It may be unrealistic at times, yes, but it does not make me complacent. To believe in the possibility of the unknown good opens you to so many more points of view - to experience empathy, to reject the definition of the “other”, and to accept humanity as this huge team that fails. A lot. But a team that supports individual growth all the same.

To separate yourself from this fact that we are all more alike than different is to doubt the world around you. To place trust in the people around us is always a gamble, but a risk that must be worth taking. A sugary world doesn’t have to be fluffed one of no consequence (unless it’s cotton candy of course).

Sweet Tooth