As a broke college student, I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing half the time. I’m either off somewhere, winging it through class, or I’m watching Netflix and avoiding all of my responsibilities, occasionally having some awkward interaction with someone I know… or someone I don’t. Most of the time, I’m a little clueless and those who know me can vouch for that.
However, there is one thing I am not totally clueless about. *Cue inspirational music* I have known what I wanted to do with my life since my junior year of high school - I want to make people laugh through my writing.
If you don’t know me too well, then you think of me as quiet and shy, so you’d probably laugh at that notion. In that case, awesome! I’m already achieving my goal of making people laugh! But if you do know me, then you already know that my dream is to write for television. At first, I thought it was crazy; honestly, I still kind of do... but through a lot of research, I was able to come up with a step-by-step plan in order to hopefully make this dream a reality. I’m not an expert by any means, but hopefully, this will help get you one step closer to making your dreams a reality too.
Step 1: Start Small
Obviously, I’m not just going to walk into NBC and automatically get a job. I mean, I wish... but let’s be real here. You have to start somewhere, and what better place to start than right on campus? There are a ton of local opportunities. Each college has a wide variety of clubs and organizations that can help you build skills pertaining to whatever career you’re dreaming of doing. I know it makes me sound like somebody’s grandpa, but build your resume! You should still do things that make you happy and that interest you, but you should also participate in activities that will give you the skills to pay the bills. Hopefully, those two categories mesh, because after all, you should be going into a field that actually excites you.
Step 2: Build a Strong Work Ethic and Be Brave
Unfortunately, dreams just don’t fall into your lap. It can take a lot of effort in order to get from point A to point B. My friends and family have taught me that having a strong work ethic is extremely important. However, I believe that courage is just as vital. Sometimes you have to take the leap. For example, writing this right now freaks me out a little because I am honestly having a harder time than I thought I would be. I feel as though this is a necessary step forward in getting to where I’d like to be. So I’m going to keep writing, even if it’s sucky because practice is the only way I’ll actually become semi-decent at it.
Step 3: Have a Backup Plan
You won’t always end up where you thought you’d like to be, so it’s important to have a career to fall back on just in case. Right now, I am going to school to become an English teacher. Is it what I’d truly like to be doing for the rest of my life? Nah. Majoring in English is great because it is helping me develop my skills as a writer, but majoring in education is giving me something solid to fall back on, just in case I do end up crashing and burning.
Step 4: Live in the Moment
Working hard and staying focused is great, but you should make sure you actually have a life (even if your life is watching "Friends" and eating Doritos.) I know that I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without the support of my family and my friends... and Doritos. I definitely would be a heck of a lot more awkward, and definitely not as happy as I am today. I owe it all to those really weird, little moments I spend at Potsdam with the people I love. So make sure you enjoy the really weird, little moments that college offers because school doesn’t last forever.
