When family friends, strangers, and relatives question you about your college major, and you so easily answer "journalism," the majority of the time, the response you get is not positive. The word "journalist" oftentimes is met with a scoff or a roll of the eyes. Or opinions like, "You better tell the truth!" Most people's perception of the media is not a positive one, but in my opinion, there was no other path for me to take.

Growing up, I was never interested in mathematics or science. I struggled to understand those fields while I ran around with "Harry Potter" and "The Magic Tree House" books in tow. I devoured books and collected them. Whenever I had an extra few dollars, I would ask my parents to take me to Borders so I could buy as many books as possible with the little money that I had collected.

By the time middle school rolled around, I had a nice little collection of young adult books and classics that I leafed through and studied, falling in love with writing styles and characters that I felt I knew personally.

High school brought on more books and less available space in my room to keep them. I never had enough book shelves. I always kept track of the happenings of my life in a journal and was interested in the world of literature.

My first semester of community college brought on a lot of confusion. What was I supposed to do with the rest of my life, and how was I supposed to decide so suddenly? It wasn't until my first college level English class that I felt something towards a certain field in particular. My teacher, a journalist and editor at a local newspaper, would come to class every night with a rumpled shirt, over-sized glasses, and an extra large cup of coffee. For whatever reason I cannot explain, this life interested me greatly. I could see myself living that way easily.

As the assignments progressed, each one a little bit more like a news article than the last, I understood journalists and why they were the way they were. It was the first field I felt pulled towards naturally.

After transferring to a four year university, the feeling that journalism was right for me grew stronger and stronger. It was decided: I was going to be a journalist.

I hope one day with my words that I can write novels and not just articles. In the meantime, I will have plenty of practice, learning about interesting people and important topics that are taking over the world. To me, journalism isn't just a career, it is a lifestyle. And an interesting one, at that.