"So you're going to sit at a desk every day and just write?" That's a question I am too familiar with. As a senior in high school, the most recurring question I receive (after "What college do you want to go to?") is "What do you want to do after college?!" My answer is typically journalism, which has been the goal for years now. The responses are a mixture of "You're going to be a great writer" and "Oh.. You want to be a writer? Hard work with little money.." Everyone has their opinions on writing and journalism, and whether or not it is a dead art and if it is worth the low income. But the fact of the matter is that everyone watched the news, or reads the Cosmopolitan section on Snapchat Discover, or reads and cites reports for school projects. And all of those are written by people like me (or people who I want to be like).
Many just think of journalists as old people who sit at desks all day and write new articles on boring happenings in small towns. And yes, that is where most people start out. But huge corporations like Hearst and New York Times also produce world-renowned journalists. Those writers travel to the scene and get to experience things first-hand, which then turn into the articles you read in the newspaper. Their words are actual experiences and opinions, not just some BS that they made up off the top of their heads. Journalists have, historically, sat on the front line with all of the soldiers during a war, such as Alexander Gault MacGowan. They have covered the terrorist attacks and the Miracle on the Hudson. They have been on the scene, seeing things and meeting people, and then having the opportunity to share it with the world.
I have been always one to live. I don't want to spend my life doing anything but living and learning. As a writer, I hope to meet people who have changed our world for the better. I hope to discover what it means to be a pilot or a police officer or a teacher. And then, after learning so much, I hope to share that information with the world.
The long nights at the computer and the tiny starting paychecks are definitely challenges I am going to have to face during my future career. Turning thoughts and experiences into words is one of the hardest and most challenging acts, but I am most definitely ready for it. Some call me crazy for picking such a tedious act to be my future job. Some admire it and some agree with it. I wouldn't want to live without it. Journalists have shaped our world today, and have made us realize how many heroes we have in this world: I want to be the one to share monumental moments with the world.
