Often times we focus on the negative and how nothing seems to go right. Instead, we should always try to think of the glass as half full rather than half empty.

Sometimes good things do happen to us, but we tend to live in the moment then forget about it. An event like that happened to me a couple of weeks ago and I want to share it with readers.

I was invited to spend a morning with the staff at the Mystician, the Bismarck State College newspaper. When I got there I met editor in chief Kayden Schmitcke and Mysticast video executive producer Isaiah Johnson.
It was part of an interview I agreed to do since I was the editor of the Mystician during the 1985-86 school year. It was 38 years ago when I left that newspaper for another one, the Dakota Student at the University of North Dakota. So the morning of Oct. 18 was like walking into a time capsule.

We tend to forget small details of our past, especially after several decades. But during a tour of the campus with Kayden and Isaiah, a lot of memories from my two years at then Bismarck Junior College started filling my mind.
That morning was important for Kayden as well. This young lady spent a lot of time setting up this interview and did her homework looking into my past, including some of the lame articles I wrote when I first got to college in Bismarck in the fall of 1984.

Because of what she already knew about me before we met, when we sat down for an extended conversation, it was an opportunity for her to see into the future. I told her about my experience as a reporter and editor at the Mystician and beyond. Now, she kind of knows what to expect going forward.

In addition, our conversation was much more than the interview of a college alum. Kayden told me a lot about herself and how she, at such a young age, handles a staff of more than a dozen people.

I found out quickly that both her and Isaiah have a lot of confidence in what they are doing. They both have a passion for their jobs despite being new to college journalism. They are both focused on their work and carry a sense of professionalism not often found among college freshmen.
These kids were taught well. I suspect parents, teachers, professors all had hands in giving Kayden and Isaiah the tools to excel in their current positions.
Another part of our conversation confirmed what I already knew. Journalism has changed dramatically in the past 40 years.
We didn’t have computers as we know them today. We didn’t have pagination, so newspaper pages were put together with strips of copy and wax. We didn’t have a television studio to branch out on campus. And, newspapers today are more photo friendly and color is used much more than it was in 1986.

I explained to Kayden that back then color was expensive so most editors used it sparingly because budgets for color were mostly earmarked for ads and then, it was almost always one color.
During our campus tour, Kayden and Isaiah took me to the room where the Mystician was located when I worked there. It’s a classroom now, but I certainly remembered a lot stepping into that room.

I met the staff and the Mystician adviser Karen Bauer. She remembers my adviser Jordis Conrad, who I have to say right here and now, taught me, a naive newcomer to college, a lot about journalism and leadership. Now Karen is teaching the same to Kayden and Isaiah.

Saying goodbye to these two young journalists was difficult because we bonded so quickly and we had so much fun spending valuable professional time together.
Following our interview, I told Kayden it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way, but would most likely use a different word since “cool” dates me.