First Person: Reyna Gobel

My experiences in the Catskills are among the most amazing of my life, but I wasn't sure that was going to be the case.

I arrived not knowing what to expect. I was nervous about whether journalists and filmmakers who were giving voices to those who wouldn't ordinarily have one would accept me and my cause of personal finance education. My fears were unwarranted.

Peace Village was the most accepting place I've ever been. Bloggers were treated with the same respect as traditional broadcast and print journalists.

Journalists I look up to asked me about my upcoming book and showed interest in learning about the struggles individuals have with personal finances.

The presentations were incredible. There was always an extra espresso shot in the mix whenever I even thought about checking my watch. I smiled for the rest of the day after seeing Good News Network founder and editor, Geri Weis-Corbley, talk about her Web site. Who knew there was a place you could go for good news in journalism?

When Michael Hemingway discussed the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to be there. I studied this advertising campaign while working towards my MBA. Now, I was seeing the campaign explained by its creator.

I was excited to experience a showing of the first few moments of Frontline's latest documentary on Afghanistan. I thought about the Frontline documentary News Wars and how this seminar confirms the new diversity in media it predicted.

I contemplated what it means to dually be a journalist and a part of your community as Polly Kreisman talked about the differences between reporting in a large city and hyperlocal journalism.

I came to the event as a FOR (Friend of Roberta) and a mentee of Peggy, but I left as part of IVOH. My outlook on the drive back to LaGuardia was much more positive than when I arrived. I stayed even keel as the rental car company I chose took a half an hour to check in my vehicle. (This showed real progress in positivity because I missed my flight, and the car I was turning in was so dented they had to mark it all over dents on the contract.)

I was lucky enough to snag a window seat on the flight after the one I missed. It was the perfect sanctuary to reminisce about my experiences and contemplate what I'm going to do to live up to being a part of the IVOH community.