Addario Book Report

          In Lindsey Addario's book, "It's What I Do", my favorite anecdote comes from chapter 7, where Addario speaks about her time in Africa. She went from Abeche, tp Bahai, tin Darfur. She had to sneak in illegally for interviews because the government was not allowing journalist visas. He journey once there was a five-day one, where they carried everything on back. She speaks about how Darfur is different than other places she has seen such as Afghanistan and Iraq. She experienced the kind of war where everyone was kind of against one another, including your own people. Out of the many anecdotes from this book, this was one that stood out because it puts into perspective how much freedom and privilege we have in America. Even though we may not like aspects of how our country is at times, we are able to have moments of safety and peace. Places such as Darfur are very different. They live their lives in fear, especially the women, in several ways. Everyone can turn against others and it is an ongoing war. 

          In terms of relating to Addario in her passions on what she covers, I think her and I differ in that sense. Her calling is covering wars, which I find to be important and honorable. Although, It is definitely not something I could see myself doing, personally. I think she definitely is confident in what she is doing and what she has passion for, though. My calling is what you could call, not as outgoing. I see myself as an online media editor, so a very different step and area within journalism. 

        I think there are too many lessons to count that can be taken from this book. For me, I took a big lesson from the following quote, “Journalists can sound grandiose when they talk about their profession. Some of us are adrenaline junkies; some of us are escapists; some of us do wreck our personal lives and hurt those who love us most. This work can destroy people. I have seen so many friends and colleagues become unrecognizable from trauma: short-tempered, sleepless, and alienated from friends. But after years of witnessing so much suffering in the world, we find it hard to acknowledge that lucky, free, prosperous people like us might be suffering, too. ...the thrill of creating art and contributing to the world’s database of knowledge. When I return home and rationally consider the risks, the choices are difficult. But when I am doing my work, I am alive and I am me. It’s what I do. I am sure there are other versions of happiness, but this one is mine.” (Lynsey Addario "It's What I Do"). 

       The lesson this really taught me and made me think about is how sometimes our biggest passions include sacrifice, which is something you have to be ready for. It's the type of work you have to hold true passion for, as it's work that doesn't come easy. Although, it comes with great reward when you get to be a part of it and it's contribution to the world. I was able to use this in my own work, or more like my mindset, when approaching this class. I did struggle a lot personally this college term, which was a big part of why this may not had shown in my work, though. I think this lesson helped me to realize that photojournalism is not my calling in this type of work. 

        

(Lynsey Addario, pg 210-211)

        Some of my favorite examples of her work are some of the photos that she took in Africa. More specifically, she was able to capture the toll of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They capture the true struggle, pain and suffering that these places have gone through due to war and violence. 

There are many quotes in this book that are remarkable and notable, but one that stood out to me over many others is “The women also put my life of privilege, opportunity, independence, and freedom into perspective. As an American woman, I was spoiled: to work, to make decisions, to be independent, to have relationships with men, to feel sexy, to fall in love, to fall out of love, to travel. I was only twenty-six, and I had already enjoyed a lifetime of new experiences.” As an American Women, this quote really spoke out to me in an enlightening way. As much as women's' rights is an issue and concern even here in the states, other women in different countries experience discrimination and loss of rights to a whole other level than us Americans. What we see as basic human rights here in the United States, women don't have in other countries. The option to date, the option to wear whatever clothing we want to, and the right to leave and go places without our significant others sounds like just simple things to us, but for non-American women, that may never be something they can do. 

        I would recommend this book to anyone going into the journalism field or anyone who thinks they may want to. Reading through Addario's book has helped me discover where my calling is within journalism and where it is not. I believe that this book puts into good perspective the kind of work that journalism is and what you need to really be prepared for going into this kind of career.