Here is another paper I wrote for Dr. Dean’s Communication and Rhetoric class in the fall of 2018.
Thomas T. Moore
I came to Texas Wesleyan because I wanted to pursue a degree in communication. I have always been interested in all forms of media, mostly television and radio. I think part of that was due to my interest in those forms of media was due to being raised by television as a child. Not that I was ever neglected or left to my own devices as a child, but that my parents had always encouraged educational television over regular cartoons.
As I grew older I started playing professionally in bands that had toured North America and that experience had opened a new horizon regarding other forms of media. Not only was there a live aspect of energy and intensity with playing music, there was the ability to capture those feelings through music videos. The drummer in my last band was a film major from the University of Pittsburg and had used his formal training to allow us to reach a wider audience outside of the dive bars and music venues where we did our nightly work. We, as in the rest of the band, would write and come up with a storyboard, he would direct and shoot it, and I would end up editing the shots under his watchful eye. I realized that with these videos we were able to create a universe for our inside jokes and brand of humor to reside in. From parodies of late-night shows and Masterpiece Theatre spoofs we foundthat music videos had become a new way to express ourselves artistically rather than just putting out records.
I took that attitude and vision for what I wanted to do back to school with me. Music had taken a back seat to my education. After dropping out twice in my twenties, I was now armed with a vision of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I was devoted to injecting my vision and sense of humor into a career.
There still was a part of me that wanted adventure outside of living in a van and touring. The idealism of my youth and lust for a life of action drew me into military service. Shortly after my 29th birthday, I had signed paperwork to become a US Army Infantryman. The most demanding military occupation emotionally and physically, in the service. There I was put on the line with men 10 years or more my junior, from all corners of the US. Men that I would have never been involved with in civilian life. It was there that I found more stories. Different viewpoints other than my own, but a group of men that were determined to win. Long days in the field and on patrol meant that we were all suffering together. That sort of misery on a mass scale brought us closer together and even though we were all different, we cared about each other deeply. The bond between Infantrymen is hard to describe to those who have not experienced it. It is a brotherhood unites across services and countries.
My goal is to finish school by 2020 and commission into the US Army as 2nd Lieutenant. From there, I am hoping to branch as an Infantry officer and continue my military service as long as possible. I feel that my degree will give me the opportunity to share my point of view, become a better writer and storyteller and give me the leg up to get my master’s degree in foreign relations to become promotable to major in about 12 years’ time. I feel that having my undergrad in communication will not only help further my own personal interests but will help me as an officer. As an officer, you are tasked with duties such as public speaking and having to communicate with subordinates to get jobs done correctly and on time.
I think my degree eventually give me the skills to become a competent storyteller after the Army in whatever form of media I choose. I just want to be the sort of person that I would read about as a child. Well-rounded, educated, and someone who cared about those around him more than himself. I am looking forward to utilizing the skills learned in this class to achieve that goal.
Thomas T. Moore 