When Your Path Feels Unclear, Hold On

Advertising or journalism? I had to pick a college major. My folks nudged me toward “job stability”. I took their advice, became an ad exec, then hated my choice. But then…well…woah…

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

As a sophomore at the University of Illinois in the 1990s, I was at a crossroads.

I’d been accepted into the University’s (then-named) College of Communications and had to declare a major. Would it be advertising or journalism?

Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash

I didn’t yet understand how important it was to listen to my gut back then, but deep inside, I’d often imagine my grown-up self as “on assignment” and changing the whole goddamned world. Still, imposter syndrome tamped down those visions, I think. Did real people like me actually get paid to do jobs like that? I mean, c’mon.

I knew very little about journalism or advertising, so I turned to my parents for advice.