A blessing and a curse

Being at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications has some very distinct positives and negatives, which are often one and the same. I'm lucky enough to surround myself with other students, journalists and professors who consistently achieve at a high level and make the other people they work with better by doing so. I think my writing benefits greatly by the teachings of professors at a top 10 school and the comments made by my fellow students, many of whom will become the reporters and editors of tomorrow's top selling publications.

This same benefit can take a nasty turn when I begin to compare myself (and my achievements) against others around me. Some of this is natural. Where are people supposed to create their benchmarks from if not from the environment around them? Sometimes, however, comparing myself to my classmates simply results in a spiral into inadequacy.

Before you start in on the alarmed reassurance, let me set a few things straight. I know I'm a good writer, I might even be better than good. I also know that, given the opportunity I will make my place in the journalism industry. Sometimes I second guess the decisions I've made, especially in the last semester. I chose to go to Argentina for five months indulging the part of me that always wanted to immerse myself in a Latin American culture. And I did just that. But that means journalism took a backseat for a good deal of time. I wrote sporadically in my blog, but nothing official. My semester abroad meant I didn't get a national-level internship and that my resume (to me) feels a little lack-luster.

And 90 percent of the time, I know this was the right decision for me. I may have a few less clips, and nothing I've written (so far) has run in a publication with a circulation of more than 50,000 or so but I'm making my peace with this. I try not to get down when I see other people's resume with lines saying they've written over 100 stories for the Alligator or their multiple internships but sometimes this is a little easier said than done.

Lucky for me though, I've already started developing my plan. I'm off to the greater Boston area in July and I have an excellent support system already in place. Not only are there people that tell me I will be successful, but are willing to do everything they can to facilitate my success. I may have to bartend for a while before I find my dream publication, but that's okay. I've started to look at a few different weekly Arts and Entertainment papers and I'm ready to make my first foray into the "real world."

I can do this, full resume or not.