Published abroad

I had my first op ed published today. First off, in the U.S., reporters don't often have the luxury of writing our opinion (at least we shouldn't). So I'm not used to it. In fact, it's a little uncomfortable.

The second was a revelation less expected when I saw it in print. As writers, we always choose our words very carefully. Things are written using certain techniques to affect flow and pace. Having my piece translated into German was to totally lose control of that. It felt like I was reading something by someone else. At the same time, it was exciting to see my words in print in another language.

The topic of the piece was the drinking age in Germany and some suggestions on how to halt the drinking problems that exist among 12 through 15 year olds here. I argued they should raise the drinking age, along with some other measures that the U.S. could also benefit from, since we have the same problem despite our high drinking age. I'm not sure how convincing I was, but it was a start.

Ironically, in the picture they took that ran with the print version, I look like I'm 14.

Lesson learned: Cut or be cut. There's no writing long here.