I Want to Study Journalism, But Everyone Is Telling Me 'No.' Should I Be Worried?

The world is always going to need journalists. How could we live in a world and not know what's going on?
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I have always been a fan of the quote, "Choose a job you love and never work a day in your life," and I want to, but it seems like everyone I meet is against the idea of me studying journalism. I understand that there is a shift in newspapers to everything going digital, but there is nothing like holding a freshly print newspaper on a Sunday morning. I have known since the time I was five journalism was what I wanted to do. I remember reading books and watching the news saying to myself, "that's what I want to do!" Ideally all I really want is inspire others with my stories and words. I believe words have the power to transform others. They can be very powerful if used correctly and can change lives.

Since I will be a senior next year in high school, the topic of what I want to major in always comes up in almost every conversion I have. I do not mind it, but when I say journalism everyone looks at me like I have three heads. I have started to question if that is really what I want, and I believe it is. I am confident that is what I want to do. I've learned not to listen to others about my career choice. The world is always going to need journalists. How could we live in a world and not know what's going on?

I have decided that at the end of the day the only person who has to be happy is me. I refuse to be persuaded into another career choice because someone told me to; Journalism is not going anywhere anytime soon. I'm tired of people telling me a journalism degree is a waste of time and money. If you think about it and watch any news channel or read a newspaper, almost all of the anchors and writers have a journalism degree or a degree related to journalism. How else would we get our news?

The other thing people always tell me is that I will be stuck in a cubicle writing all day for the internet since the television world is dying. If I am stuck in a cubicle writing all day, I'm fine with that. I will be happy that I have be given the opportunity to do what I love and will put in 110 percent of my time and effort to do so. The media is going to change all the time, and it is a necessity that we stay a part of what is happening. Since the world is constantly moving, either we move with it, or we get left behind.

I want it to be my job that no one gets left behind.

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