The Beginning - I'm Studying Abroad in Africa!

Before this past summer I thought I had my life planned out... at least the whole graduation, job part. I was so excited because I was going to graduate in May 2009, instead of May 2010. A whole year early. It was a big accomplishment for me and I was proud that I could achieve such a task.

This past summer I was very concentrated on my major, TCOM - News. I was very confident that I wanted to become a broadcast journalist, and I wanted to hurry up and get out of school, so I could become successful, moving on to bigger and better markets. I worked for NewsLink Indiana the first 10 weeks of the summer and then I interned at WANE-TV NewsChannel 15 in Fort Wayne the last 5 weeks and then into the school year.

During the daily grind at NLI many people started to question if this is truly want to do with thier lives. It sometimes creeped into the back of my mind, but I would never let it surface because I was so driven and nothing was going to stop me. Then I hit WANE TV. A great place to intern. The people were very nice and very good at their job. The scary part was that almost every single one of them were married or engaged. They were set in their life. They were good at their job. I remember sitting in the back of the trucks on many occasions and questioning if I was ready for "the real world", even if this is really what I wanted to do! Very scary thoughts for someone who had always been so sure.

I've always heard that college is the best days of your life. I never really put this into perspective until the end was in sight. Another scary aspect of graduating early is the whole job market. Broadcast journalism is very competitive and it's hard to find a job in a decent market to begin with, much less now, with the economy in the shape it is. It scared me to know that someone who did NLI with me in the summer and graduated in July still didn't have a job. He was good. Why wouldn't a TV station hire him? Would they hire me?

So, after many self talks and crying sessions, I knew one thing for sure! I COULD NOT GRADUATE IN MAY! I couldn't bare the thought that I had chosen to speed through the process, not enjoy the time I had, and then graduate and be without a job, because of my own doings.

Breaking the News

Informing my mom about my decision was hard. She's always supportive of what I want. Wha will make me happy. No one ever cautioned me to slow down, because they didn't want to hold me back.

Telling my mom was a huge relief. She was so gracious, loving and supportive. She knew something had been upsetting me, but she didn't know what. My mom has always helped me with anything I wanted, and has never held me back from achieving my dreams and goals. Through this intense and confusing process, she has been there every step of the way and I honestly don't think I could have done it without her... as I even questioned this decision a few times! (Decisions are not my forte!)

Anyway... this is a verry long post, but it's such an emotional time in my life, as I was soo confused and unhappy with the way things were, and now I am on a journey to study abroad in Ghana, Africa! Who woulda thought!?


Mel