In my last year at university, with graduation looming, and after a series of *unsuccessful* applications, I’m taking the time to reflect. Why am I even doing this? Why did I become a journalist?
A budding young writer
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved writing. It’s always been a passion of mine, and something I’ve always been pretty good at. I won’t shy away from this – I’m proud of my writing. As a child I used to write pages and pages of stories. I’ve written countless poems about anything and everything, and now I’ve got this blog. Writing is always something I’ve enjoyed.
My love for writing has never considerably changed, but during my last years of school and college, it wasn’t fun like it used to be. Everything I was doing seemed to determine the next stage in my life. I couldn’t find the time for the fun in it. Writing academic essays wasn’t the same. Under the disguise of ‘choose any question to answer’ it was still very limited, and I could make few positives out of it. I knew I still enjoyed it, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had written something because I wanted to, not because I had to.
Considering my future pathways
At the same time, I knew I always wanted to go to university too. So it was during this writing slump that I was also looking to apply to various universities, contemplating what to study. I was taking English, Media and Photography at college. Although I really enjoyed the latter two subjects, I knew that English was what I was best at. But I didn’t want to learn how to write a book, or to become a literary scholar. I pretty much just wanted to write whatever I wanted. You could say that’s how I stumbled across journalism.
At A-Level I got an A* in English, and I found out that my highest marks were within the journalism section of the exam. This made me feel even better about my future path at uni, and I was so excited to start. I was determined to get out of the apparent never-ending slump.
Starting University
In September 2018, I started studying Journalism and Communications at Cardiff University.
This was a whole new stage in my life. Meeting new people, studying something I had a real passion for. But everyone always tells you, “first year doesn’t count”, so unfortunately in some ways that was my mindset. I still worked hard but once I had gotten comfortable in Cardiff I can’t say I was too worried about working towards my career at this stage. I was also introduced to the student publications within my university, which was something I was initially interested in getting to know more about. Yet after a year of more academic writing (and subsequent slumps), and not getting at all involved with the student media as I hoped I would, I finally took the initiative to start this blog, to make a change for the better.
Second year came around and was ultimately disrupted by Covid-19 (multiple lockdowns, and not studying in Cardiff since March 2020, the list goes on). I was at a pretty low point in regards to my aspiring career. No one was hiring due to the pandemic, and when they were hiring, I faced multiple failed applications. I put too much pressure on myself to create content for this blog that in the end I feel like I abandoned it altogether. So what was the point? Why am I even doing this?
Where I’m currently at
Now at present (March 2021) with my third and final year nearly coming to an end, I’m taking this time for reflection so I can better myself and focus on where I want to be. I’m reflecting on why I’m doing this in the first place. I love writing. I’m going to keep writing even in the face of rejection. Since I’m finally coming to the end of 16 years of education, I’m ready to face the working world. And I’m going to continue striving to where I want to be in this working world regardless of how long it takes me.
So it’s also important to take the time to reflect on my current position as a journalist. This goes hand in hand with my passion for writing. I’ve always thought of myself as a “student” journalist or an “aspiring” journalist but frankly these things are redundant in meaning. Just because I’m starting out doesn’t make me any less of a journalist. This mindset is what is keeping me going.
I became a journalist because I want to tell stories. I want to tell my story and I want to tell other people’s stories. I want to give a voice to those who can’t use it. I want to give my opinions and reflections and offer new perspectives on different matters in life. I want to write. And I will keep wanting these things because that’s my passion in life.
Taking all of this into consideration, it’s safe to say I’m out of my slump. I’ve got a new, positive mindset and I can’t wait to see where this takes me.
This is only the beginning!
