As a graduating senior, people expect me to have my life together. I’ve been in college for the past five years and my entire career path has been geared toward being an on-air reporter, working my way up to an anchoring position.

I was a general journalism major, but took mostly broadcast journalism classes when I found out I liked interviewing people, being on camera, and discovered my desire to be the first source to find out the truth about events in my community and around the world.

But last semester, everything changed. I was so burned out of the numerous difficult projects I had, realized how easily frustrated I get, and noticed how everything just started seeming like a tedious chore that I rolled my eyes at every time. I no longer felt excited to be on camera. All I thought was “Oh, great, another day to get up at 3 a.m., go shoot a video package of something I don’t care about, get all made-up and dressed up, and rush to put it all together for a newscast so I could have other time during the day to do all my other assignments.”

Not only that, but two horrible professors I had also confirmed my passion was lost. As former journalists in the industry, they taught me that people who want to be on-camera all the time feel they have something more important to say above the average individual. They taught me that being in that industry produces extremely vain, self-absorbed people who place themselves on a pedestal. (Of course, not everyone on camera is like that, but a lot of them are).

I realized I don’t want to be surrounded by these people for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be in constant competition with them, always stressed, always concerned about how I look on camera, and doing assignments I really don’t care about doing.

Not only that, but the news is insanely depressing. Who needs to know about all the people getting raped, murdered and robbed? Who needs to know about the puppy that got drowned in the community lake? Is this really NECESSARY to know? Reading the news is just a constant reminder that the world we live in is heading south. I am already aware of this, and don’t really need any further details on the specifics. I want to lead the happiest life possible and I can’t do that if I am reporting on these types of stories every day.

Plus, NO ONE in this millennium watches the news. Broadcast is dying and moving to online news, and I’m thinking about my future. Plus, reporters hardly make minimum wage; I’m trying to make a living and live the life I want to live. Considering how little a lot of on-air journalists get paid, I don’t think I would be happy with my paycheck until I make it to a national level anchor position… and that doesn’t happen until people are usually in their late 40s, 50s and even 60s. I don’t want to wait that long to climb the ladder. I don’t want to pay my dues for that long, only to retire from the chair several years later.

Last semester not only made me realize my passion for broadcast journalism was lost, but it also made me realize where my passion truly lies.

I have always been a writer. A lot of my experience throughout college has been writing based. As an editorial assistant in the marketing department on campus, a copyeditor for The Sundial newspaper, and then the Editor-In-Chief for Odyssey, I realized I have always loved writing and have never grown tired of it.

Writing for Odyssey made a spark ignite in my head. I loved having the opportunity to write about whatever I want. I loved the idea of giving a voice to the average person, so that anyone can be a journalist. I loved the idea that I could have my voice heard without needing to show my face on camera. I love writing fun, upbeat articles and getting to throw in the serious news article when I feel like it. I love writing about things that people actually want to read because they are entertained by it.

I realized that I could sit behind the keyboard and write all day without ever needing to do my make-up, dress up, wake up at 3 a.m., and report on depressing things. I could learn how to write more creatively (knowing I am a crafty person, this suits my personality much better) and write articles that matter to the community.

When I first realized I didn’t want to be on camera anymore, I denied it. I couldn’t stand the fact that my whole line-up of classes and my mindset throughout college was entirely geared towards being a reporter when I graduate. I thought, “ I can’t go back now, I’ve already come too far.” But the truth is, I am still so young. Even if I am graduating, I still have time to change my mind. Not being on camera is a switch in gears that took some getting used to. I needed to accept the fact that I knew this career path I was headed down wasn’t going to make me happy in the long run.

And many of my professors continue to try to convince me to stay on the path I am on. “There’s too much talent to go to waste,” they say. But even if I have talent being on air, that doesn’t mean I should do it for the rest of my life, especially if it infringes on my happiness.

Think of it this way: Just because someone is good at math doesn’t mean they enjoy it or want to become a math teacher. The same applies to being a reporter. Yes, I have some level of skill that would take me far as a reporter, but I wouldn’t be happy doing it.

So for anyone who is thinking about changing the career path they are on, don’t worry about it. I am three months away from graduating and changed my mind. And I know everything will turn out okay. If you have enough drive and ambition, on top of knowing what the right life decision for you is, you can do it.