For most of my life, I thought I'd have some type of career in the medical field. However, that couldn't have been farther from what I really wanted.

I had countless reasons to think the medical field was right for me.

My sister was born premature, and the nurses in the neonatal unit were truly role models for my nine-year-old self. Then, I lost my best friend in 2014 to cancer, and that was more than enough to inspire me.

As for school, I was always a straight-A student and an overachiever with a major type A personality. Where I'm from, those kinds of grades and traits mean you either become a doctor or a lawyer. I grew up seeing everyone like me graduating and doing just that. I took all the necessary classes to follow in their footsteps. I made all A's in them (including AP Chemistry somehow), but I didn't enjoy them. An A is merely a letter grade, not an indication of happiness. I had to take a step back and ask myself out of all the classes, what did I really enjoy? What career would make me happiest in the future?

Medical professionals are a critical part of our society, and I appreciate and commend each and every person who chooses to pursue that career. It takes a special passion and personality to do what they do in their daily lives, and I don't have what it takes (especially considering I'm a germaphobe... duh, dead giveaway).

I have always loved to write and take photos, and I have always been a people person.

I did some soul-searching since I had realized that my well thought out life plan had just flown out the window, and I found that it was the people and their stories that inspired me. I was inspired by the stories of how the neonatal nurses found the strength to help newborn babies fight drug addiction or how my best friend's oncologists had fought their hardest to save her. It was the people and their stories that inspired me.

When I finally got to college, I realized journalism was the perfect major to combine this love of storytelling with my love of people.

I love to help and serve others, but the medical field isn't my way of doing that. I make sure people's voices are heard and that they have the information they need to stay safe and make informed decisions for themselves. Now that I'm entering my sophomore year and just finished up my first internship, I am completely confident and happy in my choice. I love what I do. I'm looking forward to my future career.

Journalism is not a dying field, but rather a changing field.

I love to learn, and journalism is always giving me the opportunity to do that. At the University of Kentucky, I am taking classes to prepare me for the future of journalism whether it be through drone technology, mobile journalism, social media, virtual reality, or some other innovation that is just emerging. I'm not alone in this love of journalism, and platforms like Odyssey and Her Campus help us work together to show others just exactly what the future of journalism can be.

When I visit home, I always have at least one person ask if I'm going to school to be a doctor. My answer is always, "No, I'm going into journalism." Then, like clockwork, they give me a confused or disappointed nod and smile.

No, I'm not going to be a doctor, and that's perfectly okay. I'm a journalist, and I am proud of it.