A personal narrative of a twenty-something journalist

Ever since I was a little girl, I found myself in a mental spiral in what my path will be. I believe my first dream was to become a grade school teacher, practicing lectures and creating assignments for my younger brother. Then, came a stream of possibilities including dance and fashion design. With all the stress that came with feeling lost, I found relief in reading and writing.

During my grade school years, I felt out of place in my suburban lifestyle. I truly enjoyed communicating with my peers, wanting to know their life stories. It took until my college years when I truly fell in love with writing. I am living in a beautiful time full of equal opportunity for women where my voice can be heard.

My first year of college was spent in Otis, a private art institution. At Otis, my mind and soul was broken down, I felt just as lost as when I was a child. The only class I had to look forward to at Otis were my liberal arts courses, including art history and standard English courses. I knew I didn’t quite fit in with Otis and I’m sure Otis felt the same way.

After completing my first and only year at Otis, I headed to El Camino Community College to start over again. I craved writing. After a year in community college, practicing my skills as a writer and news buff, I successfully transferred into the journalism program at California State Long Beach. It wasn’t long before I began writing for the school paper, the Daily 49er. The newsroom felt like a second home to me. I worked long hours and enjoyed every second of it. Once I started in the newsroom, I worked to move up. I created a path for myself which graduated me from contributing writer to staff writer and then news assistant editor. I am currently the opinions editor. I was able to move up in the newsroom in the span of one semester.

I am confident in my skills as a student multimedia journalist and I am motivated to jumpstart my career in a news publication as soon as I graduate. I am humbled by criticism, always eager to expand my journalistic skills while maintaining professional integrity.

All aspects in journalism interest me, as my work samples may show. I am fortunate enough to have contributed for various publications, including fashion, lifestyle, event coverage, news, opinions and diversions. I have created and published both podcasts and broadcast clips, including writing my own scripts for both. I am focused in being a well-rounded journalist for it will give me a great sense of diversity in the newsroom. I’m still writing my story.