Going into my senior year of high school, I ā like many other students ā had no idea what I not only wanted to study in college, but my career in general as well. I decided that Iād apply to most of my schools under an āundecidedā major, but something about that really bugged me, because I really just wanted to choose something.Ā
Somehow, when I got my schedule for my senior year classes, I was given three empty periods, which wasnāt allowed. I had to go meet with my counselor to pick a new class, and one of my only options was a newspaper class. I chose this class purely to fill my schedule, but I wasnāt prepared for how much I would love it.
When I started my newspaper class, I felt like I wasnāt in a classroom, but a real-life newsroom. I would be assigned to go take photos at a hockey game, or to interview my principal, or to come up with a layout for our new story. This class felt like I was working a full-time job, in the best way possible. I had never experienced a class that made me feel like I was applying what I had learned to my real life.
As my group and I started on our first long story of the school year, I quickly understood the importance of journalism. In my school, there were so many different stories that had never been told, and so many people who hold amazing talents that have never been put on display.Ā
Throughout the year, Iād write, report, photograph, and design stories for my high schoolās magazine, The Mix ā some of them even winning state awards. I never thought I would grow to love something so quickly, and so much.
The reason I grew to love journalism was not just because of the opportunity to share unspoken stories, it was because I had a lot of creative freedom.Ā
Iāve always been someone who needs to be able to express myself by being creative, and it felt like I was given so many options and opportunities when Iād work on these stories. It felt so satisfying to pitch a story and have it be approved, or to be able to design a layout for a story in our magazine. It was exactly the class I had been waiting for all of high school, one where I could apply my creative talents to a real product.
I chose to go into CU as a journalism major for the same reason I loved my newspaper class. Under a journalism degree, there are countless opportunities for jobs under many different titles, not just a print magazine editor.Ā
However, when I think about the job market for journalists, it scares me.
The fact that there are limited jobs for journalists is intimidating, but I also have no idea what I want to do with my career yet. I believe that journalism has a lot of room for creativity and flexibility, but in 2025, I have doubts about that.
The journalism Iād grown to love isnāt always available anymore. Many publications have lost funding, and when they are funded privately, media corps have to fit a certain narrative to appease shareholders. Many media sources are also biased, which destroys the point of journalism in the first place. My goal is to deliver news and the truth to the public, but many media outlets donāt exactly follow that idea. Original and unbiased thoughts and facts donāt exist quite as much as they do in journalism, making the actual work for newspapers much less rewarding.Ā
As I sit in my journalism classes as a freshman at CU, I am faced with that ugly truth. However, I know that my generation is the future for changing this way of journalism. The future of journalism is incredibly scary and very unpredictableāyet Iām prepared to stick with what I love to do.Ā
I try to resort back to the reason I loved journalism when I joined the newspaper ā the untold stories. Right now is an amazing time to be a journalist because the time we live in is nothing short of insane. As this world only gets crazier, more reporters will be needed to share those stories that are so often silenced from the mainstream.