Anaya White
I THOUGHT I HAD IT ALL TOGETHER
Before starting college I knew I wanted to work in the entertainment business. I had everything planned out. I would be sitting in the newsroom; writing about celebrities and their accomplishments, failures & life changes. It wasn’t till I came to Pace that I realized that wasn’t for me! To be specific it was during Freshman year. I was sitting in a class called “Writing for Print Media” and was simply struggling. I would honestly sit in class bored! I would keep telling myself maybe I’m just tired and it will be better next week. But things never changed. It was about a month into the class and I knew something had to change.
Call For Back Up!
So I went to speak to the career mentor that I’ve had since high school. We went to lunch and he came with ten worksheets laid out on the table. That worksheet had some sort of map on it. The first thing he said was to fill out the things I like to do, things I’m interested in and what I didn’t like about the class that I was taking. He definitely emphasized the need to really think about it. We were sitting in the cafe for about three hours. Every few seconds different things came to me. I knew I was interested in social media, brands, big businesses, artists, musicians, actors, writing, discussing social topics, hands-on work, public speaking and so much more. The hardest part was writing out what I didn’t like about the material I was learning. I kept saying it’s boring but it was more than that. At the time I couldn’t exactly put it in words. I just knew the path I was headed towards wasn’t for me.
When looking at the different interests I had written down I didn’t see a common theme in any of them. My mentor kept asking me what do you see? All that kept going through my mind, “Dwight, it’s obviously just words on a piece of paper… nothing special.” Honey…Open Your Eyes
“Anaya… this is you! Everything on these sheets should make up what you want to do. You may not be able to get everything in your career but a majority of it should play a part. It may take time to figure out what you want to do, but research is key. It takes time. The time is now. Go back to your dorm and think of a plan on how you are going to find out the path you want to take.”
Once my mentor said this the wheels in my brain started turning. I didn’t exactly know where to start. On my way back to campus the words, “the time is now” kept echoing. The minute I stepped into my room I sat at my desk with my computer opened, ready to do some research. I typed in everything with the word job attached to it. Surprisingly Google understood what I was trying to say. I clicked the first link I found and there was a list of over a hundred different careers. Many that I didn’t know existed. Many I didn’t even think were a career. The first thing on the list was public relations, and I sure didn’t know what that was.
What In The World Is This?
According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary, public relations is, “the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution.” When I broke this down, this meant maintaining the image and the reputation of an individual or brand. But the question was, what does this career path entail?
After doing the constant reading and asking questions I understood what the purpose and skills needed for this path actually were. Publicists are people that are needed not only in the business world, but with celebrities as well. They advise their clients about how to fix their public wrongs, as well as, formulate the brand they would like to uphold. A few skills needed to work in PR are:
- Creativity
- Open-mind
- Research Abilities
- Communication Skills 5. Writing
- Social Media
This Is It!
When I understood the fine print of what means to be involved in Public Relations, I knew this was the thing for me. Not only was it interesting, but this has been a growing industry in the past few years.
It takes time to figure out what you want to do with your life, this is definitely a life long decision. You may think that you have it all together, but it comes that time when you realize you really don’t. There is no specific formula for figuring out your major. The best advice I can give is to do what’s best for you. Don’t let anybody dictate what’s perfect for you but, sometimes it is best to speak to people who can help bring you to that huge decision. Remember, pick something that can make you happy and you will never work a day in your life. If you ever feel like you’re a little stuck in the process, click here .