It was during the hour-long time block for the television news class that I found my passion. I loved that my words, even as a 13-year-old, had meaning and impact on the entire student body. I loved fiddling with the camera and creating news packages similar to ones that professionals were taking.
I decided at that point that I would follow this path to a full-time career. I became the first freshman to join the broadcast journalism course in high school. I was the leading anchor for the announcements for all four years. I was accepted to Boston University to pursue my journalism major and I was accepted to the University of Southern California when BU and I just didn't seem to click.
It seemed like so much work to get to where I was: sitting in the Annenberg Media Center at USC. I think that's what I had the hardest time with. When I could no longer see myself as a network news anchor, when writing articles no longer gave me a high that I couldn't seem to find anywhere else, I felt lost. I felt like the past 7 years of my life had been somewhat of a waste.
Applying for internships for the summer after my sophomore year only added to the stress. I had no idea what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I could write and I could speak publicly. I had great communication skills that I was forced to put to the test every day in my education. I applied for a whole slew of positions involving highly technical writing skills to public relations experience. I really had no idea what I wanted and that stressed me out.
In an interview for a corporate communications position for a high tech company, Juniper Networks, I was asked what I wanted to do, and I was honest. I had no idea, but I had a passion for writing and speaking. I loved interacting and communicating and I wanted to take the skills that my journalism major had refined so well and apply them to something new.
I guess something clicked because a short three weeks later and I was signing a written offer for a corporate communications position that reported directly to the CMO. I jumped right in without the slightest bit of knowledge of anything tech. My nervousness soon subsided and turned to excitement. I loved that my writing, my video editing, and my knowledge of social media benefited the team in a direct way.
It wasn't planned when I took that television news course in the seventh grade. It also wasn't planned when I fell out of love with becoming a news anchor. And despite my slight OCD, I think I'm starting to realize that maybe the best things in life aren't planned. So as I head into my junior year at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism I am more than ready to not make plans, but learn as much as I can. Maybe one day I may know exactly what steps I need to take next.