A Day in the Life of a News Editor

News editor finds napping to be a skill; when not napping she is in class

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COURTESY OF LOREN NEGRON

Evergreen news editor finds coffee to be an essential commodity. She finds readouts with reporters funny sometimes and playing music to be relaxing.

LOREN NEGRON, Evergreen editor-in-chief

My life mirrors that of a bat whose energy runs on caffeine and multiple hours of napping per day.

Upon waking up at around 8 a.m. from the sound of a ringtone I composed via GarageBand, I shrug and tuck myself back to sleep. My body, thankfully, wakes me up about 10 minutes before my 9:10 a.m. class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I stumble across my room, frantically searching for my glasses. The darkness in my room does not help me find my glasses at all. I keep my curtains closed most of the time, so my room looks like a cave.

After finding my glasses, I go to the bathroom to wash my face and hope the cold water splashed on my skin awakens my brain. Sometimes it does; sometimes it does not.

Covering my legs with my wool Cougar blanket, I log on to Zoom for my journalism class. Students are required to have their cameras turned on for that class. Turning my camera on often gives me a panic attack because I worry my eyes would not stay open during the entirety of the class session.

But, alas, my body perseveres through the class, anticipating the smell of coffee to permeate the air of my tiny apartment. By noon, I usually would have drank two cups of Folgers coffee already.

I continue to drink coffee throughout the rest of the afternoon and schedule naps in between readouts with reporters. I can take two to three naps per day. Each nap can take anywhere between 20 minutes to four hours. It is a skill of mine to nap anywhere, anytime — too bad I cannot put that on my resume.

Without coffee and naps, I do not know how I can interact with other humans, whether the interaction is done in person or virtually.

As an introvert, I spend a lot of time with me, myself and I. Self-investment is a form of self-preservation — a way to maintain my sanity. I do occasionally socialize to ensure my social needs are being met.

When I am not napping, I do things students typically do — watching lectures, taking notes, reviewing, etc. I also like to stare at my ceiling whilst music plays in the background.

I like to listen to blues, classic rock and country. Lately, I have been playing Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots” and Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” on repeat. Music helps me get through the day, and it most often helps me nap more.

Despite spending 90 percent of my life in my room, I do try to go outside from time to time to walk or ride my bike to get some sunshine and breathe fresh air. I sometimes think I am allergic to the outdoors because I end up sneezing a ton after spending time outside.

Working for the Evergreen newsroom encourages me to be a little more extroverted. It forces me out of my comfort zone and improves my socializing skills.

I love my job as news editor. I get to mentor my reporters and see them grow as writers. Some days, life gets too complicated, busy and challenging. But my Evergreen colleagues and friends bring me joy — sometimes flowers and a hand-written letter to make me smile. Readouts with reporters sometimes make me laugh, which is a great relief after a stressful day.

It is an honor to serve as news editor. It might take some coffee, music and naps to help me do my job, but every minute I invest in my role is worth the time and effort.