Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a newscaster for your local TV channel?

I remember being 8 years old and I was interviewed by my local sports reporter, Dennis Carter, who was big time in our town. It was following my performance at the city swim meet. It was such a big deal for me to meet him!

And then for HIM to want to ask ME questions? Well, I thought I had really arrived!

When you are 8, you don’t have a very large global picture yet. You have your family, your neighborhood, your classmates, your teammates. So, everything seems bigger. It’s like when you walk back into your elementary school and everything seems small. It actually is the exact same size; you have just grown in body and in mind.

I wonder if the local newscaster knows they are big time to the community?

I wonder if they are impressed when they meet a national reporter or newscaster?

I wonder if the national one is nervous when they interview someone in the global scene?

I just recently read Mary Louise Kelly’s book It. Goes. So. Fast. It. Goes. So. Fast. | Mary Louise Kelly (marylouisekellybooks.com). Here is a journalist at the top of her game on an international stage, and she still speaks of being nervous or intimidated or impressed as she grows her list of people she has interviewed.

I guess we could always chase a bigger stage, a brighter light, and a bigger crowd. But when it comes down to it, having one person look up to you and share their thanks for paving a path or sharing wisdom, should be plenty.

I think that is what some people crave about small towns, personal support and connection throughout the journey. Others probably feel trapped. Or maybe they see it as merely a steppingstone.

Either way, the humans at the center of whatever the news or the story or the impact is really where we should pay our attention.

It makes me wonder, If the stage keeps getting bigger, info sharing quicker, with more opportunity to scroll right past, how do we stay focused on the authentic human story and impact?