When you were little, I'm sure you can remember being asked, "What do you want to be when you get older?" The more I grew up, the more realistic I got with an idea of what I would want to do with the rest of my life. I started college with the burning desire to achieve what I set forth to accomplish in my mind, but I still get asked, "So, what do you want to do after college?" I always seem to answer something cliche such as, "Move to New York in search for journalism opportunities," but in actuality, I still have no idea what I want to do. What do I want to pursue with a degree in journalism? Do I even want to pursue a job? What if I want to build my own empire? What if I just want to live in the present and not have to worry?
When I first began my college journey, I was a Cell and Molecular Biology major (what was I thinking?), but shortly thereafter I switched to Mass Communications with a concentration in News and Editorial Journalism. I started to figure everything out all over again—planning for internships, extracurriculars, searching for jobs and beginning to network. However, the more I seemed to plan out my future, the more, "What do you want to do after college?" questions I would get, making me truly wonder what I want to do after college.
Writing is something I am extremely passionate about—I know that for sure. Does that necessarily mean that I want to move to a crowded city and leave the year-round warmth of Florida? Of course not. To be honest, I don't see New York in the future for me. But I am tired of letting the future terrorize my present. As a student, the end goal is to get my degree and start my life. I must first start with my present and focus on what I am working with now rather than add another item on my list of things to stress over.
The truth is, I don't know what I want to do with my life, and that's okay. I'm a firm believer in "going with the flow" and that's what I've been starting to do. Of course, I'm going to work my butt off to end up wherever I end up, but I'm no longer worried about where that place is. Journalism degrees can get you a job in magazines and newspapers but also within teaching, advertising and web management. I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing five years from now, but I know what I want to do. I know my strengths and weaknesses and I'm hopeful that my skill set will be able to guide me and pave the way to a road of excellence.
