My first trip to New York City, I thought nothing would transpire except for maybe a few cool photos, catching a glimpse of some celebrities and buying a cool souvenir. Little did I know, this is when my life would lay out perfectly before me.
Being fourteen years old, who knew I would pursue something so perfect for my personality and wants in life? It all started when I was attending a Ne-Yo concert hosted by Good Morning America. Who even is Ne-Yo anymore? Did he fall off the face of the earth?
Anyways, being the nosey fourteen-year-old I was (and still am), I mustered up enough courage to break through the crowd of people surrounding the hosts of Good Morning America and got the attention of Josh Elliot. He was one of the friendliest and humblest people that, to this day, I have ever met. Having an obnoxious teenage girl try to get your attention and still being polite and asking me questions about who I was still resonates with me today at the slim age of twenty.
much more. Being on camera and talking in front of people is something unlike most humans, I thrive off of. I have always been a fan of performance and talking one’s ear off. When I was young, my father would get mad at me for “asking too many questions” when in reality, that was just the beginning of my investigative career.
After this encounter with this infamous news team, I began telling people that I wanted to be a News Anchor. Instead of the typical Teenage response “I want to be a Doctor” or “I want to be a Professional Athlete” this response came as a shock to my small Midwestern hometown.
“You have the Face for TV” or “You have such a great personality! People will love you!” Boosted my ego immensely. (It didn’t need boosting considering I already thought I was thecoolest human being to walk the earth).
Then I came to Chicago and attended DePaul University and little did I know, EVERYONE wants to be a News Anchor. My ego started to shrink knowing that this competitive field was going to be tough to crack. Not only did I have to compare myself to some of my closest friends and push myself to apply to countless internships, but I had to take a good long look in the mirror and decide if this was something I truly wanted in life.
one of the most important decisions to this day I have made. Finding passion in what you do will make you rich and successful in the fact that you don’t dread going to work every day but leap out of bed excited to fulfill your passions (The paycheck being a bonus).
Knowing that I won’t start out as Al Roker, Dianne Sawyer or Ryan Seacrest, is humbling, but I know with hard work and dedication to this industry, I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.
