Why I chose journalism.

My undergraduate studies are winding down, and as such, I have thought endlessly about the future and all the possibilities it holds.

What I haven't given much thought to is the past four years. 

I'm afraid that once I start, I will have to face the fact that I am leaving. That the very thing I have planned my entire life for (seriously, since I was five) is coming to an end.

But I will need to write a goodbye column for the newspaper next week, and so I have been looking back at my journalism degree, and all it has done for me. But specifically, what being part of the campus newspaper has done for me.

Me, circa last year, when the office was still blue. And had a horrifying futon that you sat on at your own risk.

Being the editor-in-chief for the past two years has had some very, very trying moments.

It challenged skills I did not yet have, and made me question what I wanted to do in life.

I am not going to be a journalist.

But I am absolutely, completely confident in my journalism background.

There are a few moments that really emphasize that for me.

Tonight, I had one of those moments.

I also had a moment like that last year, when I interviewed a former alum who had been at the Pentagon on 9/11. He told me his story so poignantly, so vividly, that it was hard to keep my emotions together while he spoke. And all I wanted was to be the medium from him to someone else, anyone else, and for them to feel what I was feeling.

Tonight, I got to interview a recent grad who participated in the Boston Marathon. To actually hear what it was like from someone who was there and experienced it was incredible. Sometimes news stories feel so far removed.

But to hear from someone, in their own words, about how they were so grateful to be ok in the end...that is why I am in journalism. 

Because I get to do that. 

I get to translate people's feelings and experiences into concrete stories, and allow someone else to feel what I felt.

People have stories, and my job is to make sure they're told.

I will miss that. But I don't intend on stopping.

Sometimes you know when you're doing exactly what you're meant to do, and for me, that's when I'm telling someone's story.

Whether it's the tale of someone fictional, historical, unknown, or even myself.

Telling our stories is important, which is why I started this blog in the first place.

People are interesting. Even the most mundane lives have some fascinating nugget of a story buried somewhere.

Somebody has to tell them. 

Why not me?