What To Do, What To Do

So these next couple of months are full of decisions for me. I am traveling to three universities for job interviews (ssshhhh). But there is still a part of me that wants to stay in journalism for a little longer. The idea of starting a teaching career as a professor without feeling like I've done all I can in journalism pains me.

If I stay in journalism, I want to do something completely different (multimedia, magazine, radio). I want to keep learning, challenge myself, better myself as a journalist. I enjoy doing journalism. It's a high for me. It's what I do and think about all the time. I'm a news junkie at heart and it's my fix. I couldn't imagine not doing it.

So here I am. At the crossroads of what I've been preparing to do for the past six years of my life: teach. And I'm not sure I'm ready to take that leap just yet. Scared? No. Not Interested? Definitely No. So what's the hang up?

As a journalist, we've heard other journalists say the reason they went into this field was to make a difference. Doctors say it. Lawyers say it. So do teachers. Unfortunately, this reason is said so often that it comes across as cheesy and that it's the "right thing to say." I want to do more than make a difference. I want to help make change happen. Do something that improves journalism on a larger scale, in the bigger picture. I want to watch that change take hold, grow, expand, deepen, have mistakes, branch off to new ideas. This is what I haven't accomplished yet, and I think this is my hang up.