Regardless of the media hate and fake news surrounding me, I have chosen to become a journalism major in college and to hopefully become a journalist after I finish my schooling. Unfortunately, many people are not exactly supportive of my decision to take this career path.

First, I'd like to thank my parents, immediate family members, and close friends for believing in me and my passion for both journalism and the written word. However, I wish extended family members and random strangers alike would stop for a minute to think about their word choice before commenting on MY choices.

At a recent family function, I was introduced to a nice couple, and I talked to them for quite a bit. Everything was going wonderfully until I was asked about my schooling. I answered their many questions, saying I attended Temple University and I was a journalism major, and suddenly the tone of the conversation changed.

The couple looked at one another with disgust and the wife let said, "Oh…" as her face turned sour. Her opinion of me had totally changed, all because of something I'm incredibly passionate about.

Of course, the next topic of discussion was fake news, and just for the record, I am trying to change the world of journalism, not contribute to the said “fake news" out there.

Unfortunately, I'm sure that this is an experience that many journalism majors can relate to. Sure it's hard for every twenty-somethings career choice to be respected, especially by our parents' and grandparents' generations, but for some reason, the world particularly hates "the media" right now.

I wish people would believe me when I say that I didn't choose this career path to spread fake news. I chose this career path because it feels like the right fit for me. I want to seek out the truth and share people's stories.

I want to craft pieces displaying local and international current events. I want to talk about the different sports news that I passionately follow. Putting pen to paper, and fingers to keys, makes the magic happen.

Just because I love writing journalistic pieces doesn't mean that writing them is always easy. Sticking to Associated Press format while trying to make someone sound genuine but still interesting enough to keep the reader reading, all while trying to avoid awful clichés, is near impossible.

A challenge is a challenge and journalism is a challenge I am proud to take on. It's more than a career path, it's a lifestyle. In the future, I can't help but picture myself writing for my dream news organizations.

Yes, life as a journalist might get difficult, but it is nothing that I can't work through. I cannot wait to get my degree, to prove everybody wrong, and most importantly, spread the truth.