I’ve been writing ever since I was in first grade. I remember having to do these timed writings in class where you would have 10 minutes to write about anything you wanted, and then you had to count how many words you had written at the end. They only gave you one sheet of paper, but you could ask for more if you needed more. Some kids only needed one, most needed two, and then there was me: the girl that needed five sheets of paper. While the pages were sprawled with grammar and spelling mistakes, that was the least of my worries. I had a story in my mind, and I was determined to get it down on paper before those 10 minutes were up.
I like to say that those timed writings sparked my interest, and I’ve been writing ever since. Beginning in high school, I thought that I was going to major in creative writing in college and become a famous author like J.K Rowling or Rick Riordan. That dream died over time as I started to realize the extenuating circumstances that would have to go my way and I had to consider the fact that I didn’t want to be famous, and new interests started popping up.
In seventh grade, I joined a club called Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA. At the time I didn’t know what business was or what you did, but I enjoyed creating speeches to present to people and learning about different programs. I continued my involvement in this club in high school and was suddenly thrown into the business world. I was taking business class after business class and really enjoying all of them. I was also working my way up into leadership positions for FBLA and another business club called DECA.
By the time senior year came around, I had to decide whether I wanted to pursue business or writing as a main career of mine. One felt like a passion and the other felt like security, making it very hard to choose.
In the end, I chose both. That’s right, I didn’t really have to make a decision at all. I am currently at CU as a business major, journalism minor. At times they feel like completely opposite interests because of the stereotypes paired with each career, but I actually think that they’re pretty similar. Both require good communication skills, teamwork, a commitment to the public or a company, and ambition to work towards a goal or story. And yes, both majors are the butt of every joke on how they’re the easiest majors… no fellow students, my business final wasn’t counting to 100 and my journalism final wasn’t reciting the alphabet backwards, as many of you think.
However, there are differences between business and journalism classes. The Leeds School of Business is very professional and has a more rigid structure that is ‘guaranteed’ to bring success to your career. Journalism has felt more flexible, creative, and overall down to earth in comparison. It’s not a bad thing, I enjoy getting to experience the different worlds of professional fields.
While I haven’t met many people that have the same business-journalism interest, there are a few here and there. One of my advisors in Leeds started in journalism and slowly transitioned into the business world, and getting to speak with her about her experiences in her career has been eye-opening for me. Along with that, there are a few writers at Her Campus CU Boulder pursuing business as well!
No matter how opposite they may be, you should be able to pursue all of your interests. Business and journalism, science and music, engineering and classics, it doesn’t matter. Do what you enjoy, and also make sure that you can graduate on time since credits in different schools here at CU don’t transfer well with each other (hah)!