Whenever I tell people that I'm a journalism major, I get a few different reactions:

1. "The newspaper industry is fading away."

2. "You won't find a career if our president is calling everything fake news."

And, my personal favorite...

3. "Journalists don't get paid a lot."

I decided on this field because I love to write. I know what I "got myself into," and, might I add, you can do quite a lot with a Journalism degree nowadays. People, aside from my family and a few close friends, always try to shoot me down and doubt my major, and myself, telling me that I won't find a job, that I should consider changing majors because my field is dying or some other opinion that I've heard a thousand times before. Whenever I tell them what I'm majoring in, they tell me why I shouldn't be a journalist, they never ask me why I want to go into the field.

I want to be a journalist because I believe that every single person has a story to tell. There is way more than meets the eye, and I want to know all about people, like what music they like, what sports they're into, what their favorite subject is, why they majored in what they did, why they didn't go to school and so much more. Not every person is going to be as open about themselves, sometimes you have to dig for it, but while you're digging, sometimes you'll find that the best stories come up in casual conversation.

I want to be a journalist because there is a lot of bias in the media. Whether it be a newscast or an article, sometimes bias can make its way into the report, and as a student journalist, I believe that bias should be kept out of the news. People want to hear the facts and details of a crime, breaking news, or politics. What they don't want to hear is the opinion of the person who is supposed to be delivering that news.

I want to be a journalist because everything should be talked about. There are touchy subjects that people try to avoid because they are too "awkward" or "hard to talk about" or "not suitable for everyday conversation" and I think that that's not true at all. The more we talk about a certain subject, the easier it will become to talk about. After all, how are we supposed to improve on certain issues if we can't talk about them or avoid the subject every time it's brought up?

I want to be a journalist because I'm a naturally curious person. Every time I have a conversation with someone and they tell me about their bad day, or a hard assignment they're working on, or their family problems, I want to know why. Tell me why your day was bad, why your assignment was so hard and why you were having family problems. Being naturally curious about things can sometimes give you answers that surprise you, catch you off guard and truly paint a picture about a person. Curiosity doesn't always kill the cat, sometimes it can tell you about things that you weren't originally looking for, but now you're interested in.

I could go on forever about why I want to become a journalist because it's such a fascinating field. Learning about who a person is, what they're like, what they're into and so many other things is what I'm interested in. It also helps me out a ton that I have a love for writing. Next time you find yourself talking to someone about what they're majoring in, don't tell them why they shouldn't do it, ask them why they're doing it. You never know, the answer may surprise you.