Tell Me Why - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

Our journey continues with - what else? - this very space. After covering how I came to be hired by The Citizen and becoming its editor, the logical next step is my most direct contact with our dear readers, which is in this space, 600 words per week.

 

This is the 844th column I’ve written for The Citizen. A handful of very loyal readers will remember that once, in 2016, we accidentally repeated one of my columns, so, this is technically the 843rd column of absolutely new material, but, for ease, my face has appeared above a column in this newspaper now 844 times. Let’s stick with that.

 

Nearly 850 times I’ve had something to say in this space and conjured up 600 words or so to that effect. I remember that being asked to write this column, even more so than being named the editor, felt like a real honour. Being a journalist - a real one, not the ones who shout opinions on television - brings with it an inherent anonymity. If one covers the news properly and without bias, who wrote it should be of no concern - except for, perhaps, the quality of work and research for which a particular journalist is known. Now, out of nowhere, I was asked what I wanted to say. Furthermore, in the subsequent weeks, I began hearing from people about my column, which told me that people were eagerly reading it.

 

Now, for the 844th time, we’re here again. 

 

It’s hard not to reflect on how what I opt to discuss in this space has changed over the years. As a younger man from a police family, I think it’s safe to say that my columns were a little more on the conservative side in those early days when topics of government or the issues of the day were on offer. Since then, clearly, I’ve drifted further to the left.

 

I used to invest heavily in the “take” culture, spouting off controversial opinions in the hopes of garnering a reaction from readers. Funny enough, that’s basically life on social media now, so maybe I was ahead of the curve.

 

I was also still learning my place in this life and in this community. I wouldn’t say I was closed off in those early columns, but now I hear people checking in to see how things are going with my family in this column. You wouldn’t say that a number of years ago. Having said that, the way I approached writing a column in those early years was in an effort to further introduce myself to members of the community. So, I would write about an issue of the day or relay an anecdote, but I would aim to always reveal a bit more about me each week in a way that related to the day’s topic.

 

So, with that foundation in place, I hope that I was able to show you a bit of myself one week at a time, whether it be my history, my family life back in Pickering and Scarborough, my interests, likes and dislikes and more. That may have been interesting to folks, or it may have been a bit of a drag - we’ll never know.

 

Over the years I’ve cheered people on and called out bigotry and bad behaviour. I’ve given people their flowers when they deserved them and I’ve told them that they suck when they’ve acted in a way that, well, sucks. I’ve talked sports, movies, music and politics and, yes, I’ve ever divulged some of the inner workings of my brain as I’ve worked to navigate fatherhood in this day and age - the highs and lows, the learning moments for both me and the kids, the triumphs and even the times when I wish I had done better.

 

Thank you for coming along on this ride with me and for reading some of the things that spill out of my head and onto this page week after week. No doubt they’re not all your favourites, but hopefully they’ve been fun.