Learning about college can be confusing, and learning about your major can be like a wild bull ride. But as seniors, it’s safe to say we’ve finally got a hang of it, so here are seven things we learned about our journalism major along the way.
1. You’ll Need a Car
Having a car in college is a plus but having a car as a journalism major is damn near essential, especially if your school is in the suburbs. When half of your projects are off campus, your best friend becomes the person who has a car.
2. Equipment = Arm Pain
Arm day is at least once a week with the amount of equipment you have to carry. Your tripod and camera become the weights you wish you could drop but can’t unless you want to drop a grand. #RealfFriendsCarryYourTripodForYou Don’t worry you’ll be two arming it like a pro in no time.
3. You Will Spend HOURS in the Newsroom #TeamNoSleep
Newsroom is life. Seriously. From classes there all day to working projects all night, the newsroom will become your unwanted frenemy. But no worries, comfort will come when another student is there yelling at their computer beside you.
4. News Quizzes
These two words will most likely haunt you for your first three years. So you better know things like who the president of China is and all the latest White House news. Though these quizzes are painfully annoying, you’ll learn more about the world around you– from education to health– and be able to chime in on any conversation like a boss.
5. You Must Know EVERYTHING
Journalism majors are the know-it-alls you love and hate. From the Oxford comma to the newest Trump issue, you’ll have a 50/50 shot of winning jeopardy with all the random ish you know.
6. Deadlines Really Do Suck
Procrastination wins again when you’re stuck in the newsroom until 3 A.M. When a journalism professor says a story is due at 12:00 they really mean 12:00, not 12:01 or 12:02 because in the real media world, even a small one minute difference can break you. Fast and hard deadlines drive journalism, and in turn, drive us crazy. From squeezing in calls to sources between classes to running frantically across campus with a camera and tripod, we do ANYTHING to get a story in time. But we promise, there’s a method to our madness.
7. What Social Life?
Your sources and professors become your social life and fellow J-school students like yourself become your therapist. The sacrifices you make for a good grade are endless but worth it when you get an A on a project you pulled an all-nighter for.
Although being a journalism major is stressful pretty much all of the time it is a lot of fun because for stories you get to go out on mini adventures and meet new people from different walks of life. If we had to start college all over, we’d probably pick journalism again
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