I would be lying if I said that I always enjoyed writing. For the entirety of my 20 years, I have been in a committed love-hate relationship with pouring my thoughts onto paper, enjoying the cathartic nature of it all, but despising the process. I used to think that grammar was the most boring topic that anyone could ever discuss. Finding sources and information not on Wikipedia made me want to stab my eyes out. The bane of my existence slowly became word and page counts, paired nicely with the horrible MLA formatting. Then, like a slow motion fall you see in the movies, I began to gradually grow out of the things that bugged me most about writing. Why? What caused such a drastic change in my mindset? I realized I didn't suck at it. After years of tediously checking my subject and verb agreements, sitting in on writing workshops, and being corrected on my MLA headings, I had picked up more than a few things.
Realizing you are good at something does not mean that you are immediately freed from the grasps of partial self denial. I found that it takes time to fully accept the inevitability of your future. I came into High Point University as a Strategic Communications major. I was convinced that this would make me well-rounded and was the key to my success. My plan then, and still now, has been to attend law school after I graduate. After discussing with a professor my major and my future, I was given a reality check. I was not giving myself a head start for my future, so I needed to make a change. One conversation with my student advisor and my major was swiftly changed to Broadcast Journalism.
I see journalism now as a stepping stone, but not in the "walk all over you" type of way. I see it as something to propel me towards where I want to be in 10 years: thriving as an attorney. While I may not be breaking the hottest or most controversial story to the public, I will be no stranger to writing. Legal briefs, contracts, opening and closing statements, reports, etc. will be a part of my daily life, one that I will be prepared for because of my foundation in composition. While it may seem like a roundabout way of reaching a goal, I am confident in the power of journalism to get me where I want to go. 
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