It's been five months since I'd last posted something, so I thought I would give an update of some sorts, giving my thoughts of what has been going down since June. So it's November right now, but we're nearing the end of the semester and I realize I hadn't been keeping up on this blog, but truth be told, it's been a real fun five months. I have to say, switching to journalism was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I think I'd mentioned this before in a previous post but I'll reiterate anyways, but the way my story went from senior year of high school to where I am now honestly was a mess. When I was applying to schools, I had applied to schools for journalism. I didn't get into a single one that I wanted to go to. Discouraged, I kind of jumped into studying music, which I honestly wasn't particularly strong in at the time, and had a great time with that. Doing that for a year and a half made me realize that the environment I was in was extremely detrimental to my mental health, and so after about two weeks of deliberation, that was that, and I was done. But then what then? I was considering so many options. Math. Geographical Sciences. Criminal Studies. My mind then landed on something I never gave a chance to in the first place, something that I had wanted to do since junior year of high school, which was study to become a journalist.
Also on High Street
I loved the thought of telling stories, being the voice for people who didn't have one, and something this semester has taught me, or at least given me hope for, is that it's possible. Coming into the fall semester, I was terrified. "OSU's not really known for its journalism program..." "Will I be good at writing?" "What if I hate journalism?" "Did that mean I screwed up my chance with music since I took a semester to do GE classes?" I think this last question is really what drove me the first half of the semester. I had to put all my energy into this major, really even be a "try-hard" in some people's eyes, because I wanted to make my decision worth it and have no regrets. And really, I feel like it payed off.
This year, I'd been given so many opportunities as a student journalist. There's actually a chain of four or five days this month in particular that made me realize that this is what I really wanted to do. Two of those days consisted of a national security simulation, where we were given the opportunity to simulate national and international crises and report on them. It was stressful but it was the most fun I've had in years, and I was able to work with so many amazing people (such as Philip Bump of the Washington Post, Andy Chow of Statehouse News Media, and Mike Thompson and Ann Fisher of WOSU), and I felt like I had learned so much. The following Monday, we had Holly Zachariah of the Columbus Dispatch come in and she shared so many stories that gave me goosebumps just listening to them being read to us, and really motivated me to improve my writing and storytelling skills. Finally, the next day I had attended an SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) meeting and discussed one of the best stories I've ever read, The Falling Man by Tom Junod (which I HIGHLY recommend to journalists and non-journalists), and that day made me realize really how much I've learned this semester and how much better I and many of my peers can become.
So was this all worth it?
All of the stories I've been able to write this semester showed me how much there is in this world to see, and so much more there is to be seen in the world, and I feel like I've found the right path to do that.
From my most recent story I did about a researcher who built the Ohio Stadium from Lego bricks to raise money for his research, you can read it here.