The Beginning
I stood watch. Up in the sail of the USS Columbia, a fast attack submarine for the US Navy, I peered out over the side adoring the setting sun - an orange, yellow splotch melded to a never ending ocean. Standing watch meant standing and watching, not much to it, but I did it because I had to. Taking orders, no biggie; staring off into space during watch, no biggie; being in the middle of the ocean, thousands of feet below with nothing but a few feet of dense metal protecting me from thousands of pounds of water pressure... eh, no biggie. One thing I never realized, however, came to me during that specific watch. As I stared into the distance, I felt cut off. As I stared, I thought of my family, my friends, my home country, my life back there; what was going on?
I never truly recognized isolation till I travelled in a submarine. That isolation bred my desire to be a journalist, and, today, I am living that dream. My name, Fred Arnold, my hobbies? Writing, reading, and learning. What I said above, about my tenure in the Navy, highlighted a very destinct role journalism played in my, and most everyones, lives. I speak about the flow of information. We are a society built upon reading. We are a society built upon writing. And we are a society built upon the utlization of these wonderful gifts. My isolation out at sea brought that perspective to me, it showed me its importance, and I will never look back again. I write for the St. Pete College newspaper, The Sandbox, and I have never been more in tune with my community, my family, and my friends. Keep that in mind. No matter where, what, who, when, or why, always read and write; always critically reflect on ideals; and always push to learn. Currently, I am going to St. Petersburg College in a Digital Arts-Web Design program. My hopes is to combine my writing ability with the ability to create physical landscapes within the World Wide Wed.
I want you on that journey with me. From blog posts, to newspaper articles. From bad stories, to great novels. From one outstanding school year, to a poor, unmotivated summer. Please, join me in creation bred from writing and reading, you won't be sad you did.
- Fred Arnold