I came to George Mason University with a dream! That dream was to spend it as an English major and go off and become a high school AP Literature teacher. I was strongly for this idea my Freshman year, still feeling okay as a Sophomore, and this year as a Junior negative ten percent interest. My dream was dying and I was losing my drive and frankly I have been scared because, well, this was my plan and I am a person who likes to have my life planned out. When you have a dream you are so passionate about only to realize you would hate yourself every day if you continued along this career path is devastating. It makes you question why you are even at college if you’re not going to do what you said you would.
I am so thankful I realized my dream was a dream for a perfect world that I did not live in. Writing here for Her Campus made me realize my new dream. I want to be a journalist and write for the rest of my able life. When I was a kid, I always loved writing fictional stories but never was able to complete them. I even took two summer long courses in creative writing and a class my junior year of high school. I’ve always wanted to write, so why this didn’t come to me sooner is really beyond me.
One of my dreams was to influence people and educate them so I assumed teaching was the only way to do it. It didn’t occur to me until I started writing articles for Her Campus that my voice could be heard by anyone with an internet connection. I could make my opinion known to more than just young people sitting in front of me, trapped in their chairs for an hour and a half. I realized I wanted a willing and open audience for my thoughts and advice which I was not going to get as a high school teacher. I was going to be limited to books and what my students and I thought about them. Even though I love books and love talking about them, I want to talk about more.
Writing all the time about varied subjects has given me my drive to write again. I went a long time without writing because I felt like I was trapped in a rut and felt everything I created was boring and bland. Maybe it was because I was only looking at fiction writing as my only option. Realizing I could write about things I love without them being fiction opened a whole new world to me. Honestly the way my creative juices have been going, I could probably start a fiction novel and might not give up on page two. That’s an amazing feeling for me.
Having the love and support of the ones I care about has also been immensely beneficial. My family has always been supportive of me but to have them actively reading my work and liking it (they’re brutally honest so I know they’re telling the truth) makes me feel more secure. People from my past are also excited for me as well. My mom was talking to my fifth grade teacher a few weeks ago and told her that I had chosen to become a journalist and she was so excited and knew I would ultimately go back to writing since I loved it so much when I was young.
So thank you Her Campus for giving me this chance to change my life and thank you to the people in my life who are always by my side.