Class Assignments or Real Life?

I'm in journalism because I like to write and I love a good story. Good stories are all over the place -- too bad school makes it tough to get out and find them. 

I mean, I'm learning great stuff in class. But if I spend lots of time on assignments, I feel like I'm missing out on the real stories -- the kind that happen in the real world. So I have to choose. And given the choice between real stories and class assignments, I'd choose...real stories.

Like Sean Blanda says in his post "Confessions of a Journalism Student," employers in the journalism trade seem not to care much about GPA. It's all about the work you've done. Of course, I'm not saying journalism students should simply ignore their assignments for real stories. Mostly, I just try to combine them.

However, it takes a lot of work and time-budgeting to kill these two birds with one stone. It's easy to write a story on some campus event and turn it in for class. It's more difficult to get out in the community, do research, and report real news -- even harder when you've waited until the last minute and you've got exams to study for. But man, it's worth it.

Can't wait till summer, when I can dig up some great stories without those pesky class assignments breathing down my neck.