It's amazing just how quick time has gone with Catch 22. Eight weeks ago I was lazing around with my best mate, with one hell of a hangover, catching up on that weeks news and browsing the free publications I’d picked up that week. One of which was Catch 22. But at that point Catch 22 was just another magazine: not knowing the faces behind the words, and not knowing anything about who they were or what they were about. But I just knew that Catch 22 was different. What really stuck out was the content, Catch 22 was actually writing interesting stuff. Not the same old dross that we’ve all heard time and time before. Me and my mate practically spent the whole afternoon sharing these great facts about the underground from one article on public transport around the world, and discussing this amazing story about the plight of a former child soldier in Sudan, really emotional stuff.
Then I stumbled across an advert for a 12 week journalism course starting three days later. First thing Monday I was on the phone to Sharon, the head of the Catch 22 Academy, and by Wednesday I was in the very first lesson. I couldn’t believe how quickly everything was happening. The whole course has moved incredibly rapidly, a bit of a journalistic hurricane, taking the courses ten students on a hectic but fascinating journey of subbing, blogging, reviewing. As well as being sent out to court or the odd press event, you are completely responsible for writing and designing your own feature to appear in the magazine itself.
We have only got four weeks to go, and I’m rushing around like a pro trying to get interviews and pictures for my feature. It feels like I have made some real progress with my writing skills over the past eight weeks, and if I’m ever struggling with anything then we have a really close group who are always there to give supportive over the drink or two we often indulge in after our whirlwind journo sessions!
