As with any major, there’s a whole slue of struggles J/MC majors face. Even if life as a journalist isn’t the easiest, we love every second of it. From the late nights trying to meet our page requirements to sitting through uncomfortable interviews, we revel in it all.
1. Being told “you’ll never get a job.”
Unfortunately, many people assume that journalism majors won’t get jobs easily—because print journalism is a “dying field.” There’s more to journalism than writing for newspapers, though. In fact, the options are endless—that’s why we love it.
2. Having borderline carpal tunnel from all those essays.
It’s a safe bet that J/MC is the most writing-intensive major. We might not understand why we do it, but we keep on writing despite all the late nights and numb fingers.
3. Trudging our way through the cloud of cigarette smoke outside Murphy.
Every J/MC major has classes in Murphy—meaning that every J/MC major has to endure the crowd of smokers that gather outside of the building during all hours of the day. While some might complain, we don’t mind it. Whether we pass by a puffing professor or a fellow Bonnie, we’re usually greeted with a smile.
4. Not knowing the meaning of the word “shy.”
As J/MC majors, we spend every waking moment asking questions. For some of us, being shy seems almost impossible. We want our voices heard and stories to be read. On the other hand, even if we find ourselves feeling shy, we do a good job hiding it.
5. Showing up to every campus event with a notepad and recorder in hand.
While all our friends show up to campus events looking for a good time, we’re there for business. Whether we’re interviewing attendees or snapping shots of everything going on, it’s not hard to spot us. Even if we have to miss out on relaxing during a hip hop show or two, seeing our story in the newspaper is worth it all.
6. Talking to the tons of people on campus.
As J/MC majors, the campus newspaper or our j-prof might have us to talk to different people around campus for a story. From the Step Team to Dean Pauline Hoffman, a Hickey employee to a D1 athlete, we never know who we’ll be talking to. While we never know what to expect walking into these interviews, we always walk out of them feeling like a Fox News correspondent.
7. Feeling like we’re taking 30 credits—even if we’re only taking 15.
They say practice makes perfect, so a lot of us J/MC-freaks spend our week nights writing for The Bona Venture, The Intrepid and The Buzzworthy—maybe even hosting a radio show or segment on SBU-TV. When we’re not in the studio or editing room, we’re working on the 500 other papers we have to write or trying to fit in a trip to the gym.
8. Not always being able to share our opinions.
Most times, J/MC majors have to stick to the facts. Unfortunately, we tend to be the most opinionated people around—so holding back our thoughts on the Western New York snow or the Rathskeller running out of wings isn’t easy. Even if we can’t take advantage of every opportunity to let the world know what we’re thinking, we can take our thoughts to the opinion column.
9. Praying we can pull out of our dreaded Clare’s with a solid “C.”
While this might be true for most majors, J/MC majors seem to have some sort of uniting hatred for our Clare courses. Cath/Fran, World Views and Intellectual Journey– none of it makes much sense. Professional Writing? Now that’s something we can do.
10. Our J/MC family is always there to lend an editing hand and an encouraging word.
With all the stressful deadlines to meet and interviews to conduct, it’s all worth it because we know there are countless people to help us through. It’s likely a fellow journalist won’t turn down an opportunity to look over our work or talk us through our writer’s block–and that’s why we’re one big family.
Photo credits: 1 stock photo, 2 stock photo, 3 stock photo