If I had got $10 for every time someone asked me “Isn’t journalism a dying industry?”, I’d probably make more money than I did at my previous internship. 

And I think the doom we feel for our profession creates this idea that there’s no such thing as good enough. That if we’re not the best, we’re going to end up unemployed, or worse, a consultant. 

But allow me to state my case that you should do the exact opposite: let yourself frolic, or in other words, f*ck around.

For my entire freshman year, I told myself I didn’t have to commit. I didn’t have to climb any publication’s ladder, I didn’t even have to do journalism. I wrote some stuff, and even though the pieces I had written were cool, I kept pushing myself to try new things to see if I liked them better.  And thank god I did. 

Because that’s how I ended up at an audio story training for the Daily Northwestern’s audio desk. But I still didn’t start my devo process until spring quarter, when a silly question popped in my head: Why the f*ck are there showers in Mudd Library? And then these questions started piling up: What if I did an audio story about the showers in classroom buildings? What if my story started with the sound of water coming out of a shower? What if I had people test the showers and share their experience? 

That goofy question was the start of one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever done, and my three year-long (and growing!) love affair with audio journalism. I never would’ve found my passion for public radio reporting if I hadn’t given myself the freedom to explore.

My journey with bilingual journalism started very similarly, where one question about my study abroad orientation teacher’s wife’s hobby eventually led to me taking a train at 8 pm to the outskirts of Barcelona to watch people form Catalonian human towers. 

I do want to acknowledge that it’s a privilege to be able to take risks and try new things. I have a safety net, a.k.a parents who will help me (even if a bit begrudgingly) financially. I don’t have to worry about paying off student loans.

If you are lucky enough to be in a situation like me, I humbly ask that you take your time to find what’s right for you. Don’t wonder what your life would’ve been like. No amount of thinking and pondering can actually predict what you can handle and where you will thrive, you have to just try it.

The saying “f*ck around and find out” has always been used as a threat. But what if instead, it was a promise of adventure and self-discovery? Isn’t life all about learning more about ourselves and the world we live in, especially as journalists? I know it feels like we need to produce something Pulitzer-worthy every quarter, but when I took a step back and thought about what I really cared about, I ended up living a life beyond my wildest dreams.