James Foley kneeled before a member of the Islamic, extremist group ISIS in an orange jumpsuit, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and clenching his lips together. Seconds later, he would be beheaded. He would never see his family or friends again and more importantly, he would never write another story ever again.

Foley was a combat journalist and sought to, “expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people,” according to his mother in a CNN article. He was only doing his job and ended up dying, which is not uncommon in Foley's choice of profession.

What is combat journalism, you ask?

That was the same question I had my freshman year of college.

I sat in my Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse (WRD) class, listening to my professor give instructions on a research paper we would be working on for the entire quarter. As we left, she handed each one of us a list of topics to choose from.

To my surprise, I came across the words "combat journalism."

It was a little strange to me that I had never really heard anything about this branch of journalism, considering I had been on the newspaper in high school and decided to study journalism at DePaul. Thus, I chose it as my topic and spent the entire class researching what it meant to be a war correspondent.

It was absolutely fascinating.

My research taught me three key aspects about being a war correspondent: at some point you could be kidnapped or killed, there can be a huge mental and physical toll on the body and sometimes there are limitations on combat journalists when covering stories.

This didn't come as too much of a surprise considering most foreign media coverage involves the Middle East and the different types of wars going on there, especially with what seems to be the rising threat of ISIS.

Syria alone is one of the deadliest places for a reporter to cover, with over 94 journalists killed in the country since 1992.

Not too long ago, Vietnam seemed like one of the deadliest places for a journalist to go. Over 76 American journalists were killed, not to mention many western and Vietnamese reporters were also victims of the war's violence.

The famous "Nepalm Girl" captured by photojournalist Nick Ut during the Vietnam War in 1972. Without reporters like Ut, the world would have never understood the chaos that was the Vietnam War.

These numbers are so high because journalists have no protection overseas. Combat reporters are put in the same environment as soldiers, yet they have no protective gear on besides a bulletproof vest or helmet. They have no training about how to deal with possible life threatening situations they could be put in either.

The only thing these reporters do have are their cameras and the belief that what they are doing overseas is worth losing their lives over. For many people, it can be hard to understand why someone would risk their life just so they could write a story about what is happening in a war zone.

Combat reporters believe their work is essential because in reality, without them, none of us would even know what is happening on the opposite side of the world.

After learning all of this, I became more passionate about war reporting. It was no secret to my WRD professor when she read my paper either. In fact, she thought so highly of it that she suggested I enter it into the First Year Writing Showcase at DePaul. I did and it was selected later on, meaning that I would have to present it to many other students, parents and DePaul faculty.

One of the first things people always asked me when they came over to my table was, "Do you want to be a combat journalist? Would you ever go overseas?"

My initial reaction was something along the lines of asking them if they were crazy or telling them I didn't have a death sentence, never thinking about the possibility of what types of stories I could cover. There just didn't seem to be anything attractive about being a combat reporter at the time.

Then more people asked, I saw Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Tina Fey's movie where she plays a war correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan), I had a conversation with a lieutenant who used to lead reporters all over the Middle East and I started to ask myself "What if?"

Of course covering news in a war zone would be no walk in the park, and it certainly wouldn't be the easiest job in the world.

I would not be cracking wise jokes, making people all across the world laugh and then go back to my expensive, safe home after a long day on set just as Tina Fey had. Instead, I would be facing hectic situations that involved grenades, sniper bullets and just as Foley, the possibility of losing my life at any given moment.

To many, it might seem like the craziest job in the world. Journalists are not soldiers and I am well aware of that. However, they do have equally important jobs as soldiers. They seek truth and report it because that is the number one rule in journalism.

It is also what has caused me to have a change of heart. My aspiration in life is to become the best reporter I can be. There's a reason journalists do their jobs, especially war journalists.

Much like those professors, parents and students that asked me whether or not I would ever be a war reporter, I asked myself the same thing the next morning after seeing Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

I took one hard look in the mirror and asked myself, "Would you turn down the opportunity if someone asked you to be a reporter in a war zone?"

It surprised me because, to be honest, I could not give myself a straight answer just as I once could before.

So, here is my answer: maybe.

The more I learn about combat journalism, the more my face lights up from being so intrigued. The more I think about going overseas, the less scary it becomes because I see it as an adventure. The more I think about being a war reporter, the more I could picture myself jumping into it full throttle.

I'm fully aware of the risks, but to limit myself would be a shame. When you limit yourself, you keep yourself from experiencing a world of opportunity, lessons and growth. I will not do that.

So yeah, someday I could be Danielle Church, war correspondent.