As I head to North Central College this fall, I plan to major in Journalism and minor in Anthropology. Nine times out of ten, the response I get after telling someone this is “wow, you really don’t want to make any money” or “why don’t you go to law school instead?” Yeah, yeah, I get it; They’re not the easiest fields to get jobs in. However, I strongly feel that writing is my calling and I’ve had a passion for anthropology for as long as I can remember. Shortly after one of my doctors made a comment about how my future is headed toward a dead end, I couldn’t bite my tongue any longer. So, I’m going to do what I do best, rant about it on the internet.
I am not going into these fields for money, but for my own personal enjoyment and to open doors to new worlds with my words. Think about your favorite book. Personally, the Harry Potter series comes to mind. Now think a little deeper -- every character, every setting, every little detail that makes that story so memorable was created with only twenty six letters. Only twenty six letters! That book has the ability to transport you to entire new worlds and allows you to fall in love with characters who only exist thanks to the author of that story. It is my dream to create something even half as amazing and life changing as what J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter. If I only touch one life out of ten thousand, that’s enough for me. If I can write a newspaper article and get one person to open a part of their mind that has been closed, I will be satisfied.
History class probably wasn’t your favorite. It was for me, but I know I’m a special case. You probably zoned out during the Native Americans unit, as you’ve seen Pocahontas and already feel like you’re an expert. You can probably only recall that the Mayans and Aztecs were ancient civilizations, but they occurred so long ago, why does it matter? Well, it may not matter to you, but it does to me, because they were people. People like you and I, going about their daily lives and contributing to their communities. I’d love to discover and celebrate their lives. Besides, where does humanity end and history begin? One hundred years? One thousand years? Think of our society’s future. Future anthropologists will study our smartphones and be fascinated at the light bulb. They’ll study every aspect of our lives to create a clear picture. I’d be honored to do that for people thousands of years ago. And now we have not discovered everything there is to be discovered. Not even close.
As important as money is in today’s society, I am not going to make my life revolve around it. I have about seventy years left (hopefully) and I would like to enjoy it by creating amazing experiences and changing minds, not waiting for the next paycheck. My payment will be inspiring others and honoring our ancestors. My dream job would to be to write for National Geographic, and yes, that may sound a little too unreachable, but go big or go home. I would like to spend my life going big.
Next time you feel like someone’s career path is not an honorable one, I would like you to bite your tongue, put yourself in their shoes, stop putting people down for their passions because there are going to be some people who listen to you, and they will drop their dreams and go lead a boring life. Don’t be the reason someone doesn’t chase their dreams. Praise their choices and ask them questions. Tell them you can’t wait to read their future articles or see one of their exhibits. Boost them up, even if you disagree.
