PD columnist Marisa Endicott: Through journalism I didn’t have to choose just one interest

“Behind the Byline” introduces you to those who write stories, shoot photos, design pages and edit the content we deliver in our print editions and on pressdemocrat.com. We’re more than journalists. As you’ll see, we’re also your neighbors with unique backgrounds and experiences who proudly call Sonoma County home.

Today, we introduce you to Marisa Endicott, our "In Your Corner” columnist.

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Growing up, my dad often brought me along on his door-knocking expeditions. We’d canvass neighborhoods talking to anyone home who would listen about various ballot initiatives or campaigns.

This was partly strategic, I’m sure. With a kid in tow, it was probably harder for people to turn us away. But, it was also his way of instilling in me the importance of community engagement and discourse.

I was exposed to a whole range of social and political issues and people’s differing perspectives on them, sometimes polar opposite only driveways apart.

It also taught me to think about policies and laws in the practical terms of their direct and indirect impacts on people’s daily lives.

Those early takeaways are part of what drew me to journalism — talking to people to find out what matters to them or how they’re affected by something and how that complicates or contradicts official narratives and reveals inequities in the systems that shape our lives.

In doing this work, I’ve learned a lot about exploitation, injustice and big-money influence. But, I’ve learned as much about perseverance and creativity and the power that can be harnessed at the community level to shape policy and drive change.

And, therein lies what I see as journalism’s greatest value — not to tell someone what to think or do, but to provide the information people can use to expand their own understanding, hold those in power accountable, or advocate for changes they want to see.

That’s the objective of the “In Your Corner” column, and it’s why I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to shed light on the issues that matter to the communities here with a particular eye toward solutions and self-advocacy.

I was born and raised nearby in the Bay Area and grew up visiting family, working and exploring throughout Northern California.

To now be able to report where I first learned to engage and value the community around me, brings everything full circle.

In my role at The Press Democrat, I’ve already learned so much about completely new things to me, from North Bay tenant organizing efforts, to the tensions between development and wildfire evacuation planning, to local scam operations, to cemetery regulation.

Getting to explore the weird, wonderful and ugly and why it’s all important could not be more fitting.

In my early 20s, when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, I had a lot of trouble settling on a path, not because nothing interested me but because everything did.

It all felt hopelessly interconnected and endlessly fascinating.

In college, I’d majored in “global studies.” Can you think of anything less specific than a program to study the “social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic consequences of global flows, institutions, and processes”?

In terms of picking a career, I stalled out for a while. I had lots of curiosity but mourned the absence of a single, burning passion. I still sometimes do. (I cried through much of Pixar’s “Soul” about a jazz pianist single-mindedly dedicated to his craft.)

On the flip side, I’ve gotten all kinds of interesting work experience — events installation, university research, nonprofit work and legal investigation — that each came with surprising lessons I still draw on today.

Ultimately, though, nothing felt as right as journalism.

It gave me a loophole out of having to choose any one thing. Instead, it expanded who I get to talk to and what I get to learn and pass on. Now I explore new rabbit holes and unexpected connections in a meaningful way every day.

“In Your Corner” is a new column that puts watchdog reporting to work for the community. If you have a concern, a tip, or a hunch, you can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.