This is a short essay for a scholarship at Ball State University. It simply asks "Why do you want to go into journalism?"
With it being senior year, all of the seniors are uniting and asking questions such as "where are you going to school?" or "what are you majoring in?" Now for most of my friends those questions are hard to answer, but for me they're a no-brainer.
Hello, my name is Tom and I want to be a journalist.
To my family and friends, it seemed like an odd choice. Of course I had a good vocabulary, writing potential, and a knack for detecting grammar mistakes, but I was naturally shy. So what made me choose a career where talking to complete strangers is almost a daily task?
For one, I love words. I love long words, short words, and complicated words. And I love forming them and taking them apart in order to craft the perfect image of what I'm trying to portray. Some use their clothes, hair or attitude to do that. I use words. As a kid reading fiction books, I thought that should be my writing path. But I'm more interested in the truth. I believe that everyone has a story to be heard, and the truth is more juicer than fiction anyday.
Through my journalistic experiences, I've learned that it's necessary to open up and talk to many people in order to accomplish a journalist's main goal: to seek the truth. So that has helped with my shyness a bit, and I'm hoping my collegiate experience will overcome it altogether.
Finally, I attest in journalism in its truest form: to educate people. It's supposed to let them know what's going on, both near and far away from them. It's just the facts, allowing readers to create their own opinions.
Now I know my journey to becoming a well respected journalist will be a long, hard one. But I embrace that. As for now, I want to read every book imaginable, learn as much as I can and see all of the beautiful things this world has to offer with a pen and notebook in hand.
With it being senior year, all of the seniors are uniting and asking questions such as "where are you going to school?" or "what are you majoring in?" Now for most of my friends those questions are hard to answer, but for me they're a no-brainer.
Hello, my name is Tom and I want to be a journalist.
To my family and friends, it seemed like an odd choice. Of course I had a good vocabulary, writing potential, and a knack for detecting grammar mistakes, but I was naturally shy. So what made me choose a career where talking to complete strangers is almost a daily task?
For one, I love words. I love long words, short words, and complicated words. And I love forming them and taking them apart in order to craft the perfect image of what I'm trying to portray. Some use their clothes, hair or attitude to do that. I use words. As a kid reading fiction books, I thought that should be my writing path. But I'm more interested in the truth. I believe that everyone has a story to be heard, and the truth is more juicer than fiction anyday.
Through my journalistic experiences, I've learned that it's necessary to open up and talk to many people in order to accomplish a journalist's main goal: to seek the truth. So that has helped with my shyness a bit, and I'm hoping my collegiate experience will overcome it altogether.
Finally, I attest in journalism in its truest form: to educate people. It's supposed to let them know what's going on, both near and far away from them. It's just the facts, allowing readers to create their own opinions.
Now I know my journey to becoming a well respected journalist will be a long, hard one. But I embrace that. As for now, I want to read every book imaginable, learn as much as I can and see all of the beautiful things this world has to offer with a pen and notebook in hand.