A Mirror

(Graffiti-laced building in Berlin Mitte)

(Holocaust Memorial)
(View of the New Jewish Synagogue and Fernsehturm - TV Tower)

(Angel atop the Siegessäule - Victory Column)
(Gedächtniskirche - Memorial Church juxtaposing history and modernity)

(Brandenburg Gate)

(The Quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate)

(Street Graffiti)
(Berlin sunset from my apartment window in Prenzlauer Berg)

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A Mirror – a reflection of a present moment.

My goal as a journalist is to be a 5 foot 9 inch mirror, made from the finest glass and strongest aluminum, creating a pure reflective portrait.

I don’t want to be a mirror that one is afraid to step in front of, paranoid that it will offer a bulging appearance; scared that it will magnify imperfections; stressed that it may bring bad luck with a slip and crack.

Instead, I want to be a smooth, impervious surface that is sought out for its emanating reflection of beauty.

And so came my opportunity to refine my materials through an exploration in Berlin.

I first underwent a week long clarification process in Washington DC. Here 19 other fellows washed away my fogged understanding of transatlantic relations. Then came the experts like the undersecretary of state, political blog gurus, and international journalists who squeegeed away any lingering questions and uncertainties.

I left polished, pure, and ready to test my glass and thin layer of atomic number 13. It was time to reflect Berlin’s light.

Upon arriving, I leaned into the intricate graffiti, I tipped back to the powerful cathedrals, and stood before the sculptures of the past.

Light, colors, language, history, the unknown corner have all awakened my pallet of understanding and desire for more.

I feel alive.

Now it is time to bend the image and beam back some of the internal reflections and external beauties that have been revealed.