As a college student, if I’m not questioning whether sleep is necessary, I am constantly questioning my career choice. For the past year, I have being surrounded by the future surgeons, lawyers, scientists, and engineers. All of them with many years of learning ahead, and yet still they are full of enthusiasm. Among all them, there is me with a passion for a field that is dying: journalism.
When I was 12 years old, I saw journalists as superheroes without the fancy red capes and secret identities. They stand for truth, impartiality, and fairness. They give voice to the voiceless and keep those in power in check.
As I grew up, my knowledge of journalism did too. I realized that society sees the press as biased, liars, and manipulators. Many think journalists want us to believe what they believe and blame them for many societal problems. They are the villains of the story.
Aside all social beliefs, journalists around the world have been prosecuted, kidnapped, tortured, and even killed. On the top all of that, job opportunities every day are more competitive. Many local newspapers and magazines have closed, and in this day-and-age, good writing is not enough. You need other skills to set yourself apart. Maybe journalists were never superheroes; they are antiheroes. They were not granted mighty powers from the skies and the seas. They are just hoping that somebody reads their articles, and a chain reaction starts.
Do I have a death wish for choosing an unstable lifestyle for the years to come? Maybe I do, but I also know that I’m very passionate about journalism and media.
Since I was little, I was told to find a career that I love. However, finding a passion is not sufficient, you need to work hard and be open to any opportunity that gets you close to real-life journalism and newsrooms. So if you have to make the coffee, and fetch the mail, you do it!
Additionally, you need to start working on your resume, portfolio, and social media image and wish that a newspaper opens it's doors to you and offers you a job so you can call yourself a journalist.
I was told, “The sky's the limit,” and “shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars.” Hopefully, that works because I do not have a backup plan.
