By Megan Ruge Living & arts editor
As a journalism major at Susquehanna, a school we pay about $50,000 a year to attend, I am often asked if I think this is all worth it.
For some reason, in today’s society, people feel the need to remind me that journalism is a dying field. They feel like it is their responsibility to point out that I may never make a salary they deem respectable.
The media, in the age of technology, has become a source that is immediately available at our finger tips. In today’s modern culture, it seems so pointless to go out and get a paper copy of anything you can learn about in two seconds online.
Why then, you may ask, are my aspirations to become a print journalist? The answer is simple. This is where my passion lies.
I have spent the last three and a half semesters at Susquehanna trying to decide if I was making my mother proud. I took myself down so many “roads of possibility” to decide if being a nosey journalist is what I want to do with the rest of my life.
I walked through many options, I took a business minor, I considered changing my major to education, but every time I walk into a new communications class, I knew that is where I was meant to be. So stop telling me that this isn’t worth my time.
I didn’t declare a major in communications for you to snicker at. I wasn’t looking for the easy way out, in fact my work load has doubled. I love what I do and it’s time I stopped caring what everyone else thinks of it.
When I graduate from Susquehanna, I will have a degree that I am proud of because, if I receive a job in my field, I will be doing what I love. I will be living a life that makes me happy despite the knowledge that others do not deem my profession “respectable.”
For the remainder of my time at Susquehanna, I will be putting my best foot forward and encouraging others to be proud of their choices.
Deciding what you want to do after graduation can leave many feeling like they are suffering from an identity crisis and the lack of support from the people around them can leave people feeling like they have made the wrong choice.
Support is a major part of success, the ability to succeed is a major component of happiness. So who cares if my nosey tendencies and my ability to write 500 well researched words on a page are the things I chose to base my future on. The only person that should care is me.
It is important to offer support to the people around you and give people the opportunity to dream big dreams. Dreams are the foundation of the big ideas of the future. All of the technology that many believe has rendered my dream job obsolete began as a dream.
The editorials of The Quill reflect the views of individual members of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire editorial board or of the university. The content of the Forum page is the responsibility of the editor in chief and the Forum editor.
