I hate detours. As a driver, if I see a detour sign up ahead, I end up cursing everything and everyone that I can see. That’s how much I hate detours. Why? Because instead of going straight to my destination using the usual road that I take, I end up following detour signs that lead me further and further away from where I’m supposed to go. Also, since I have a horrible sense of direction, I always end up getting lost in the process.
Well… That’s where I’m currently at in my professional life. I’ve been detoured from my “dream job.”
When I was very young, I was told by my parents and my older relatives to study well and pursue a degree doing something I love to do so that I can do it for a long time and thrive at it. I knew what I wanted to do at an early age and I made sure everyone knows it. I wanted to be a journalist (a sports journalist to be specific).
So in order to fulfill my dream, I took the necessary steps to be a journalist:
1.) Joined my high school newspaper club.
2.) Pursue a degree in Journalism.
3.) Join the college’s newspaper club.
4.) Get internships relevant to the field.
5.) Graduate with honors (or at least good grades).
I did everything in that list. I graduated within 3 and a half years, had over 50 articles published in my schools’ newspapers and one in an ESPN affiliated magazine. With all this hard work towards the “dream job”, I honestly thought that I had great qualifications in the field of journalism.
The economy said otherwise. Getting hired out of college was almost impossible.
I was realistic about the situation. After graduation, I took up an unpaid internship as a production assistant for a nonprofit organization so that I can get more experience and hone my broadcast skills while waiting for the perfect job opportunity.
To make ends meet, I worked two retail jobs. I knew the situation was only temporary and I was very optimistic about my future. Lo and behold, I got an interview for a sports reporter position. The position was entry-level and the pay was not as big as my retail gigs, but it was for a major newspaper that’s known nationally. I was very excited about it.
I prepared for the big day by reading all the local sports stories, preparing my portfolio, practicing my handshake, etc. I got to meet with 4 editors in the sports department and they all gave me promising smiles at the end of the interview. Unfortunately, due to the economic status of 2010, the newspaper laid off employees, and killed off the position I was applying for.
Fast forward to 2012, I’m now 24. I’m working for a small company as an administrative assistant. I’m basically doing secretarial duties with a little bit of marketing and public relations. I’m trying to grow in this company but this is not the position that I pictured myself being in at this age. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. There’s just a big part of me that is saddened by the fact that I spent 12 years of my life trying to get to the “dream job,” when I could have pursued something else more worthwhile.
Some people tell me, “You’re only 24. You can still get there one day.”
Yes I can, but I don’t want to anymore. I’m currently engaged. In a few months, I’m going to be a wife and maybe in the next year, I’ll be a mother. I can fulfill my hopes of being a sports writer but I won’t have the sense of stability I can provide my family now. If I do push to be a sports writer, I will have to sacrifice my salary and the peace of mind of knowing I have a job in this economy. I’m not giving up on my dreams; I’m just being practical about life.
At 24, I look back to the 14-year-old girl who fantasized about being a successful writer, and I feel like I let her down. I tried my best to make my dreams come true but I grew up and faced the realities of life instead.
I’m currently lost in this big detour but I’m OK. I don’t know where I’m headed to, but I rather drive to a different direction than aim senselessly towards the original
destination.
(Sara Almario grew up in the Philippines then she later moved to America in 2006. She graduated with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism in 2010 and has been working non-Journalism positions ever since.)
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