My mentor and mission

So, the other 3 campaigners have already found out who their mentors are and I was itching to find out mine.  I had no idea who it could be? But, finally, I know.  I’ve only gone and got the POLITICAL EDITOR OF THE METRO!  How sick is that?!  I mean, he’s a bit of inspiration seeing as soon as he graduated, he went to South Africa and set up a newspaper in a township all on his own.  And on top of that, we went to the same uni!  I find that, just..wow…  Hang on, I haven’t even told you his name?  John Higginson.  Google him.  He’s the only journalist from a free newspaper that holds a lobby pass in Parliament… How, very cool.  So I rocked up to the Metro newsroom, which was just WOW, and there was a delivery of Haagen Dazs ice cream while I was there and everything (yum)! It honestly felt so good to be in the hustle and bustle of a working newsroom again. It reminded me of uni and of all the stories we’d have to get ready for deadlines and stuff, anyway, I digress.  John was a pure legend.  He was very well spoken, obviously, but at the same time he was really welcoming and, cool. 

So we sat down and I told him all about myself, started yapping on about my situation and how it’s just been unbelievably hard to find a job, or even work experience in my field.  He said he understood what young people were going through and mentioned that, because I’m young, I should use that to my advantage, use vitality to attract employers.  I had never really thought about that before, like I always think of my age being a hindrance because most employers look at you and assume you’re too young to know what you’re doing, but he said otherwise.  This was a good point and it stuck in my head.  

Then he told me about his experiences and the massive scoop he got when he was working in L.A about Britney Spears getting married to Kevin Federline and I was just like, “err, wow, biggest scoop I got was with the leader of Nottinghamshire Council..”  Comparison?  I think not…  And THEN, THEN, he gave me my mission.  I’d been hearing about the three other campaigner’s missions and I was feeling a bit left out!  You know, a bit left on the shelf, but what a shock I got when John read the card out.  

I can confirm that my mission is to generate as much press and PR for the campaign as possible and try and take the campaign to the top politicians. As a little gimmick sort of thing, I gotta get together an unemployed youth choir to get press attention and convince the powers-that-be to listen to young people’s voices on youth unemployment. Speechless… That’s what I was, speechless when he told me.  And oh, to add to that, I’ve gotta sing a short solo. Me. Girl who can’t sing.  

Let the sleepless nights begin!