"Why did you choose journalism? You could be anything, you're smart enough to be whatever you want to be: doctor, lawyer, rocket scientist. Why journalism, when you could be in any one of those professions that could allow you to make more money."
This seems to have been a common theme in the past month. Why they're choosing to not believe in me now, or sway me away from my chosen profession as I'm getting ready to start a journalism internship, and am about to graduate I don't know. This is the worst time for the people around me to start questioning why I went in to the major that I went in to.
They may not understand me or my choices but every time I write a new article for The Reporter I know that it's what I want to do with my life. I want to talk to people every day, I want to learn new things every day, I want to have an office but never be there because I'm out in the field talking to people and telling their stories.
I have had the honor of meeting so many amazing people through my interviews and it's something that I never want to stop doing. I don't care about the money. I've never cared about money. I think that as long as I'm in a profession that makes me want to get up in the morning and go to work every day that I have successfully led my life.
It's not the easiest life choice, but those of you who know me know that I've never taken the easy way out. I know that I'll have to be extremely frugal, and I know that competition is stiff in the field, but if it makes me happy I don't see why I should go anywhere else.
I've been writing my whole life. Writing is a familiar comfort to me, like the two-year-old who always drags their favorite stuffed animal around with them.
When I write my articles I have the power to touch someone's life, change someone's world-view, tell someone's story, open people's eyes to a problem in the world that needs to be solved, raise awareness about different cultures, and motivate people to do something about an issue.
When I write for fun I have the power to create worlds, form pictures in my reader's minds, and make them experience empathy for my characters.
We are currently studying works by Isabel Allende in my Spanish Literature class. A while back we watched a lecture that she gave at Georgetown in 1997 about her book, Paula, which is about the death of her daughter.
She's a writer, she always has been, she always will be, and she started out as a journalist and is now one of the most successful Latin-American authors. In fact most of the authors I've been reading in that class started out as journalists. They've changed worlds, they've brought attention to social issues and they have been named some of the most intelligent people of our time. I admire them.
This seems to have been a common theme in the past month. Why they're choosing to not believe in me now, or sway me away from my chosen profession as I'm getting ready to start a journalism internship, and am about to graduate I don't know. This is the worst time for the people around me to start questioning why I went in to the major that I went in to.
They may not understand me or my choices but every time I write a new article for The Reporter I know that it's what I want to do with my life. I want to talk to people every day, I want to learn new things every day, I want to have an office but never be there because I'm out in the field talking to people and telling their stories.
I have had the honor of meeting so many amazing people through my interviews and it's something that I never want to stop doing. I don't care about the money. I've never cared about money. I think that as long as I'm in a profession that makes me want to get up in the morning and go to work every day that I have successfully led my life.
It's not the easiest life choice, but those of you who know me know that I've never taken the easy way out. I know that I'll have to be extremely frugal, and I know that competition is stiff in the field, but if it makes me happy I don't see why I should go anywhere else.
I've been writing my whole life. Writing is a familiar comfort to me, like the two-year-old who always drags their favorite stuffed animal around with them.
When I write my articles I have the power to touch someone's life, change someone's world-view, tell someone's story, open people's eyes to a problem in the world that needs to be solved, raise awareness about different cultures, and motivate people to do something about an issue.
When I write for fun I have the power to create worlds, form pictures in my reader's minds, and make them experience empathy for my characters.
We are currently studying works by Isabel Allende in my Spanish Literature class. A while back we watched a lecture that she gave at Georgetown in 1997 about her book, Paula, which is about the death of her daughter.
She's a writer, she always has been, she always will be, and she started out as a journalist and is now one of the most successful Latin-American authors. In fact most of the authors I've been reading in that class started out as journalists. They've changed worlds, they've brought attention to social issues and they have been named some of the most intelligent people of our time. I admire them.
"I write to sort out the confusion of life,to make the world more tolerable,and ultimately to create change."
That is why I want to be a journalist.
Until next time,
Avery
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