Journalists get a lot of flack from society, no matter if they're an independent writer or work for a major company — they never seem to get the story right and I sympathize with readers because I was one who had her own opinion about who was reporting what and I even stopped watching certain news stations because I knew they'd report the fakest of news that I'd ever heard, but then I realized that everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

I remember, way before I even decided on getting a degree in journalism, that everyone hated reporters for like two months straight. Now it's like reporters can't get anything right and they have to be fact-checked by fact-checkers. Sometimes the fact-checkers that check the journalist are being fact-checked by society! That stirs up the question, "Who is telling the truth? Who can we listen to?"

Honestly, I'm not getting my journalism degree to report news at all — if that's what I end up doing, then so-be-it, but it's not my dream. I want to write. Whether I end up being a speechwriter, a novelist, an independent travel blogger, or just a young and hopeful woman living in New York writing reviews on Broadway shows — in fact, many journalism majors have the same plan as me — not all journalism majors, but some want to do one thing. Write.

Sure, I'm learning how to write for the news and mass media, but that's not the endgame for me — it has never been. It wasn't easy picking my major — how could it be when my family was shooting me down before I got the chance to soar? To be a journalist, no matter what field you go in, you have to have grit because people will look at you and think, "Oh, you're going to report more of that fake news." Then they will proceed to tell you what you should report and that ruins your journalistic integrity.

That being said, stop blaming the media as a whole and begin blaming singular journalist's and their lack of journalistic integrity. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but blaming the press as a whole is like blaming yourself because everyone is the media. If you have a Twitter account, Instagram page, or even a Linkedin, you are the media. You are the ones giving journalists the floor and power to spread lies that they haven't researched properly.

I refuse to ruin my integrity and I will report the truth as everyone sees it. If the sky is blue and someone tries to tell me that it's yellow, I won't shut them down. Instead, I'll ask why they believe the sky is yellow and then I'll ask others for their input — then, I'll do research on others who've believed the sky is yellow. I'll get my facts straight before the fact-checkers have a chance. If I choose to dabble in the news, reporting, or political journalism, I won't report "fake news," and I surely will not let others tell me what I need to write or publish.