January 13, 2009
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How I almost became a journalist
I was talking to a fellow Xangan about an experience in life that I nearly had forgotten. It is interesting how we sometimes do not realize we are at a fork in our life's path, where we can travel in several directions depending on our next choice. It is only now, nearly a decade later, that I notice just where the fork was in the road. So I am reprinting the message content here.
During my freshman year of college, I realized that I had no job lined up for the summer, and I was only taking 6 hours worth of credits at the time. I saw an advertisement from the school paper, offering stipends for various jobs, including copy editor. Now, I had done some creative writing in high school, although I wasn't that interested in it. (I only enjoy writing for others, truth be told, not so much myself.) However, I had done very well in English in school, and had done quite well on standardized tests. So I decided to apply to be copy editor, thinking I could do it. Now note; I was a freshman majoring in a technical field, so I had no real qualifications for the job!
On the day I went to interview, I was unusually confident and brash. I went in, and the interviewers were the faculty adviser and about 4 junior/senior-level females. They asked me some questions, and I gave back joking replies on how I would react to different problems. Despite me being a bit of a donkey in the interview, they seemed to like my outgoing, gregarious self. They asked me if I would be interested in taking a position other than copy editor, such as an assistant editor. I said no, because I was interested in the stipend. They thanked me for my time, and I left. I didn't get the position. (Amusingly, two years later I did take a technical writing course...and received the highest grade in the class, even though most students in the class were technical writing majors. So I could have done it, after all.)
But I look back still on that day, and wonder. If I had not been so oddly arrogant about not working for free (which is unlike me), would I not have taken the assistant position? And had I done so, would I not have discovered at 19 (rather than at 24 when I started my Xanga) how much I like trying to prepare written material for an audience? I loved reading the paper growing up--I was reading political cartoons and Mike Royko at the age of 10? or so. Surrounded by journalists, I would have definitely preferred the English world to my rather boring technical degree, and would have transferred. Besides, unlike my technical field, English and Journalism majors actually attract women! so I'm sure I would have quickly been interested in this wonderful world inhabited by actual females as opposed to lab equipment and scruffy nerds. I would have then become a journalist! ...just in time to get laid off nowadays, probably. But still, it's interesting how our lives turn on such small twists of fate. I had forgotten that story for years until now. Now I wonder how I didn't realize how close I came to switching my entire life plan.
And that is life--we rarely see the fork in the road until we look back. I could probably also think of relationships that should-of could-of happened, only I or they were too busy and too dumb to notice each other.
Comments (11)
First!
Yes - as a journalist (it fell into my lap as well), I understand what the forks look like.
then I tend to use them to spear my tuna with.
Enjoyed the read.
Great story. I almost became a journalist, but I flunked a "core course" and was booted from the program
nerds are so cute though.
And of the relatively few boys I encounter in English classes, half of them are flaming out of the closet gay guys. While fun and amusing, they don't do much for a girl's love life 
I still don't know where I could have turned back at that fork in the road. But I often wish I had turned it.
I know where a big fork came for me. Only I also knew it was important at the time. And I sort of didn't have control of the situation.
So many times we let things that seem important like money or whatever come in the way of those little things that are so important like our passion for something. The trick is to sort out all those different emotions and figure out which ones are the most important
Hey, it's never too late! Seriously, the journalism field is indeed shrinking, but the need for writers will never go away.
My own twist of fate happened when I was 18 and my 13-year-old brother's baseball team won the state title. Suddenly I was sending articles back to the newspaper and I discovered a love for writing. Seven years later, I'm finally a journalism major, but I plan on using my degree for many other writing opportunities than the dying newspaper industry.
Oh yeah, and I'm wondering why I never got the memo that English and journalism majors attract women! lol
@StartaFireInside - So money is #1, right?
haha
@Livin4Christ83 - Wait, it's not true? Or is it just not true for you? ha! LOL Going from a 90% male field to a 40% male field is quite the improvement!
That's so interesting GP! But "no one is ever told what would have happened." I have some twists in my life that could have very easily gone the other way...
I don't think you really like it at the time, that's why you declined. You might have done it for free and found yourself disliking it even more. Perhaps your current affection for journalism stems a little from your dislike of your current profession (lack of appeal to women).
I find myself desiring the humanities the more closeted I feel in my field, meaning the more I feel like I'm learning things that only a small few in the world will understand. However, were I to sing professionally or be involved in a band as a requisite for earning a living; I'm not sure I would enjoy it as much as I do now.
after that post on what a woman wants, i highly doubt you need a specific career to attract women.
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