It’s pretty cliche isn’t it. To say that throughout my college experience, my major just happened to “choose” me and that this educational entity has defined what I plan to do for the rest of my life.
Cliche as it may be, it’s also true.
I entered college three years ago with my father’s pressure of getting into the business school and ultimately having a financially-stable future filled with all the spoils and luxuries that I was gifted with in my childhood. Yet, after having an academically unsuccessful first semester (and a not much brighter second semester) I could feel the disappointment radiate out of my father as I told him, that summer, I wasn't suited for the business school.
A few semesters passed and I continued to look for a major. I bounced around Economics and Political Science, each time saying, “Yeah, I can do this,” Only to realize a semester or two later that neither were my calling.
I stumbled upon Journalism in the fall semester of my Sophomore year. I took an introductory class on a whim because I was failing (not literally) at my other majors and I knew I could write, so I thought “why not.” I triumphed in the class with an 'A' and a realization that maybe I could do this. My professor also helped me get into the major because I didn’t have the grade point average at the time. He gave me a recommendation and that same day I was a Journalism major. It seemed that my life was finally defining itself.
That is until I got pushed back down in the next journalism class I took. It was my own fault, I was lazy, unmotivated and uninspired. I was shocked however, how could something I was good at not reciprocate into a good grade? Puzzled, but reluctant to give up, I pushed through to the next semester and enrolled into a class that would jumpstart my drive once again.
I took intro to Multimedia Journalism the fall of my junior year with Professor Steve Fox. That class really changed my whole perspective on Journalism, it showed me the potential and the necessity of journalists entering the field, even if all the polls deemed it “a dead end major,” (funny as NBCUniversal just invested 200 million in Buzzfeed- doesn't sound too dead to me). That semester I felt a fire start to burn inside of me, a fire that I continue to feed today.
Do you ever think to yourself, “It’s funny how things turn out?” The second semester of my Junior year was defined by that sentence. I had joined the Amherst Wire (a student-run online publication) on a whim, and by the end of the semester I was made assistant editor of its entertainment section. I was recommended for an editor in chief position by my professor and as it turned out, I was selected to represent my school’s branch and create a team. Most importantly I discovered that Journalism would help me reach my ultimate goal: To change the world.
I found a calling in myself, and for the first time, I had an outlet to express myself and grow and show the world what I am made of. I want to prove to my father that this is something I will be successful at, and I want to prove to myself that I will be successful against all odds.
As I go into my senior year, I look back and cringe at the stupidity of my past self. I look with disgust at the person I once was and the poor decisions I made at the time, but I do thank my past self for taking that intro to journalism class, who knows where I would be without it.
