A Chinese legend says it best. There is a bird flying over the forest without feet. Because this special bird has no feet, there is no pause, no end -- only flying. This bird just rests in the winds. This bird without feet lands only once in a lifetime, that's in death.

When studying Mass Communication, and from this graduate program in general, is that I am just like the bird without feet. Using this metaphor for my life, I think I like this kind of bird. They can do whatever they want to do, always flying,doing what they want and making memories that are distinctly their own.

As an international student who studies Mass Communication, I chose to leave my parents and come to America alone.I want to be this special bird and achieve my own American dream.

Different studies.

What’s “New Media Visionaries”? Before I took the class MCOM215, I didn’t know the exact meaning of “New Media Visionaries”. Now, I have the different feelings about my major. We had a lot of excellent guest speakers this semester and some of them were very impressive. Their talks with us about their work and life experiences enriched my spiritual and intellectual life.

For a good journalist to survive, one needs to have a great education base and multimedia skillset, but more importantly, a good journalist must have a natural curiosity, a mind for critical thinking, and common sense. When you have those three things, you will find an opportunity. One of our guest speakers,Eric Chen, said it best,“If you meet any opportunity, you should seize it.” As far as I am concerned, opportunities are always for those who are well prepared. Thus, we have to get ready for our futures. Those three things are what I learned from our guest speakers in class, especially critical thinking. Based on the article, REWRITE, it said: “the most important thing they need in new employees is a foundation of critical thinking and problem-solving fundamentals, and knowledge of teamwork and collaboration they say comes from the broader liberal-arts education many of them got—not strictly vocational skills, which fast-changing technology can quickly make obsolete, and which can be learned on the job.”

For graduate student, especially who majors in Mass Communication, lacking a fundamental understanding of how collaboration works and critical thinking functions will prove to be one’s Achilles’ heel. We can not lose one of them. Like one of our guest speakers Jane McMillan, she is a good journalist who has these three abilities. I was impressed when she said: “You need to have a critical thinking to keep asking why.”  Thus, as a journalist, firstly we have to work with ourselves and always keep asking questions. I always was a Miss “Why” when I studied in China. Now, I want to keep asking “why” even though I am not as confident with English as I am with Mandarin. But, I am not afraid, and am confident.  The best way to work to produce good journalism is asking questions like “Is this report has newsworthy?” “Who is involved?” “How to handle it?” “What’s our mission?” A little learning is a dangerous thing, but a thorough understanding of the core concepts of our majors is powerful.

This graduate program gives me a different feeling from my studies in China. That’s why, in my opinion, I chose to go abroad. With the aid of comprehensive and in-depth study, I believe I will soar higher, like the footless bird of the Chinese proverb.

My father alway told me, “If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” So, I grasped this golden chance and chose to be a bird to achieve my own American Dream. This program, has flown by, and I really love all of the  classes. Remembering when I first came here, I was unfamiliar with anything, but now, I am more out-going and confident. I made many new friends and I am doing well in my studies. Also, with the help of Prof. Rucker and Prof. Fosdick, I got a part-time job and like it very much. This is my new life, I chose it and I cherish it.

As an old saying goes: “If you can’t be smart, be memorable.” In the media industry, we have to face this problem and solve it. When I watchMad Men, I found the show to portray most of advertising elite as men. Women could only be an assistant or secretary. I read the report, The Status of Women In U.S. Media 2014, and found that women are more likely to cover health and lifestyle news, and least likely to cover crime, justice, world politics, and sports. But it is not to say that no woman could cover those kind of stories. I think that is cool for a woman to cover a war, world politics or justice. It is more impressive. So, what are we going to do?

Oprah Winfrey said, “Nobody will listen to you, when you go quiet into the night.” Women have to brave, like men. The program Prof. Rucker screened for us, Women in Business, interviewed , Mary Willis, who said that “ the most important thing is desire for success, desire beats talent all the time.” By desiring for success, in that moment, the world will be my oyster.

Teamwork plays an important role in our studies. I made many friends through my classes and they all from different areas. Coach, mom, journalists, and so on. We are like an international family. We all came from all over the world: India, Germany, China, and more. I will miss my classes some but my classmates more.

Just like the birds without feet, I have stronger wings leaving SJSU. I can do whatever I choose to do because I am young. To fulfill my life without regrets, I know if I work with a strong will, no matter how difficult, I will achieve. Though barriers may sometimes stand in the way of my dreams, I have to remember that my destiny is hiding behind them. I accept the fact that not everyone is going to approve of the choices I’ve made, but I have faith in my judgments. I know I should follow my pathway and uncover the sweet sunrises that await me.

Our lives will all be stories someday, and our pictures will become old photographs. We will all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here, for my own American Dream. This is the one moment when I know I am not a sad story. I am alive. And I can stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes me wonder. I am listening to that song on the drive with people I love most in this world. And this moment, I swear,

we are infinite.