If you asked me four years ago what I was going to do with my life, I would have probably hesitantly told you that I wanted to do something with communications. At least now I can definitely tell you that when I’m inevitably asked that same exact question in the present that aside from the initial panic at the overwhelming truth that real life is set to begin soon, I could confidently tell you that if there’s anything else in the world I want to do is to be a journalist.

Granted yes, I initially went into King’s with the assumption I’d do some sort of different type of Journalism and that for the last three years I was almost certain I wanted to be involved with Public Relations. Things change and what it gets down to is that although I could see myself pushing myself to be successful within PR, I was doing a disservice to myself because I was just trying to make other people happy by playing it safe.

Am I terrified to go into these uncharted waters of life? OF COURSE I AM. No one in my immediate family has actually attempted half the nonsense I’m involved in. Not many of us are actually involved in careers that aren’t medically related and now that I’m certain that I want to continue my education to become a better journalist? I am so scared it is unreal.

So upon retaking the GRE, I officially decided to change my future plans from pursuing a career in Public Relations to one in Journalism. I’m currently looking to find out more about some Journalism programs that can really take me somewhere that I can do something with myself. I mean, yes at least I figured it out before May but I’m still scared because this is all so freaking new to me. I have no family to really consult about this because I’m the first one to push this far for a career outside of nursing. I’m at least thankful that enough people have basically been so supportive of this new plan to continue my education to chase my dream of being a journalist and that I’ve still got the time and the minds at my college to help me figure out this next step.

One thing that I have truly appreciated during my time at King’s is the fact that I was able to build on a variety of skills so that I’m not just good at one thing anymore. I came into college with the understanding that I had half an ability to kinda write and was interested in talking to people. Now I’m a senior with decent people skills, confidence in speaking (even if I mess up with words or slip up with that slight speech problem), I am familiar with so many different programs to accomplish a variety of tasks in media, but most of all, I know I can write.

I always dreamed that I could write. As time went on, I realized that my true goal wasn’t always being a best selling author or something like that. All I want is the ability to tell one good story that impacts even one person. That’s all. No prizes, just the ability to keep perfecting the art of story telling to tell one story. Whether it be a fictional piece or an article, that’s all I want.

There’s something that I’ll always believe in true journalism. I still believe that it’s the media’s purpose to keep the people informed to the best of their abilities to make society better. I refuse to believe that the media has just been reduced to TMZ-esque journalism. There’s gotta be more people who believe in delivering the news to keeping society informed for the better, not just those who blow up our newsfeeds because celebrity X broke up with celebrity Y or that celebrity z decided to wear non designer clothes because they felt like it.

I think it’s kinda entertaining that I actually did end up reevaluating my life in my Philosophy class and figuring out that I needed to change my future plans. College does that to some people apparently. I’m scared as hell but if I’ve learned anything from myself is that I’m capable of a lot more than I anticipated and that staying true to myself and making myself happy is what really matters in the end. It’s scary but the dreams worth fighting for aren’t supposed to be some cake walk. An adventure is ahead and I honestly can’t wait to really get it started.