First post, worst post?

I never know how to start these things. I'm a design person, not a words person. Other people write things and I try and figure out how to make people want to read it because it looks neat. I can do the words but it's not really my thing. So let's just dive right in with the understanding that this could be awkward and bad but we're going try any way. Ready? Go.

I've been a newspaper designer since I graduated from grad school in May of 2015. Yep, great idea. Jump head first into the newspaper industry in TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN. Good job, Katherine. But I love it. Every day is a new challenge and I've gotten more experience in the last three years than I could ever have done at a normal job. I just did some quick math and I've done at least 1,000 front pages. Not including special sections, inside pages, weekly editions or all the "other duties as assigned" things I do on a regular basis. Newspaper is rough but man, you get a lot done in a short amount of time.

The paper I'm working at right now is doing a major redesign. Like of everything. The only thing staying the same is the body font. Everything else is up for grabs. I've done a lot of the heavy lifting as far as the huge things like the flag on the front page and the inside page layouts. Now we're down to the tiny little details that no one will notice unless we get it wrong, like the spacing between letters. We're putting a test run on the press Sunday night and it feels like sending your kid off to kindergarten for the first time. They might come back great with a bunch of new friends and a positive note from the teacher but also it could go south real quick and they might be covered in marker with Play-Doh in their hair.

One of my favorite things about working in newspaper is the press. I love newspaper presses. They're huge, amazing machines the size of warehouses that create tiny, delicate newspapers every day.

The process of putting out a paper is amazing to me. I send my PDFs of pages to the plate room, they print it on huge aluminum plates, those get put on the press, ink runs over them, the paper winds its way through the press and gets inked, folded, cut and stuffed with coupons. Then the carriers pick up their papers, drive through the night and you wake up and you have a newspaper on your front porch. The process is really amazing. So many people have touched your paper before you ever even see it. I do it every day and I'm always surprised when it works.

I doubt I'll always work in newspaper. It is really tough, after all. But I'll always carry it with me. From seeing colleagues change careers, newspaper people never lose that attitude. They live on deadline, they always ask questions and go above and beyond. We're used to putting great things out in a short amount of time so having more than eight hours to finish an assignment is a treat. Not to mention holidays. I haven't spent Christmas at home since 2014. Not to mention Thanksgiving. It's the Super Bowl for newspapers. Those Black Friday coupons keep us going. I'm well aware that my job hinges on $.35 off canned peas and I'm ok with that.

But in all seriousness, I love my job. I love the rush on deadline, the challenge of making something great in just a few hours and some of my best friends in the world have come out of newsrooms. Including my boyfriend, Wes.

Newspaper life is always uncertain and I don't know what the future holds for my career but I do know I'll always make deadline.