Monica Wants It: Dream Job {Career & Social Media}

I swear I am not naked in the above photo.

I got my dream job! Woo!

You see, ever since I’ve been a little girl, I’ve wanted to be a journalist. The exact moment this happened was when I was watching a white bronco speeding down a highway and the reporter was very quickly trying to inform me of what was happening. I then proceeded to turn to my mom and say the following:

“I want to do that!”

And I am sure my mom said a quick, silent prayer that I wasn’t talking about being like OJ Simpson.

What I was talking about was the TV reporter. I was enthralled. And ever since then I’ve been the weirdo who petitioned to start a newsletter at my elementary school when I was in 4th grade. It went kaput after I put in a couples section. A tad inappropriate, I suppose, but everyone wanted to know who was “going around”, so by golly…

I was going to tell them.

Then I moved onto junior high where I was on the yearbook staff and a prolific writer.

Then in high school I did an independent study mentorship where I got to be fully immersed in my dream career AND I helped start our very own broadcast TV network/announcement show for the whole school. We called it HBCN.

It was heaven.

In college, I was bestowed with the honor of getting into one of the top broadcast journalism schools in the nation. I excelled in all my courses. I had knack for writing for radio, and my professors always sung my praises.

I loved it, I was good at it. The story I am most proud of is a kick-ass radio story I did on frisky fitness pole dancing courses. It is fabulous.

My senior year of college I started looking for jobs…oh my lord. Entry level reporting jobs were paying $18K a year. That’s how much I would make without a college degree working at Subway. Insanity.

Dreams had to give way to being a college graduate with bills to pay. Loans, car, etc. It was a huge reality check, and I just had to come to the realization that I couldn’t afford to be a journalist.

That was all back in 2006. Since then I’ve worked for 2 grant programs and presently work as a financial aid advisor for a community college. Essentially, I’ve been in education for about 5-6 years or so, but always found a way to use my skill set. You gotta stay sharp, ya know?

Finally a position opened up where I currently work, and I felt a spark. A spark I only feel during Kate Spade sample sales, visits to Home Goods and lunches at Cheesecake Factory. That spark that makes you feel alive. Meaningful. Hopeful.

Happy.

And I got it! Working hard these past 6 years has finally led me to my big break into a field that is closely related to journalism…

Public relations. I am officially the new Public Relations Officer.

I get to make newsletters, write press releases, plan events and overall do what I love to do every single day. And get paid.

Will everyday be puppies and rainbows?

Of course not.

But for now, I am simply thrilled to finally get a pay off to all my hard work. I look happy in the photo below at my college graduation in 2006, but I was a scared 21 year old girl who didn’t feel she’d ever really have a career she would love.