With graduation less than a week away it’s hard not to wonder what comes next. Of course I am reminded of “what’s next?” when people find out that I am graduating. The truth is that people asking me this question doesn’t bother me. If anything it has helped me figure out exactly what I want to do next. However, my answer might not be what people would usually expect: it wasn’t what I would have expected to say two-an-a-half years ago when I started my grad school program. The day following graduation I will begin to fully enjoy my job, and in the process become a better editor, a better coworker and a better person.
Knowing that Culver City News was offering me an opportunity to be the editor in chief was definitely one of the highlights of 2013. After four almost five years of freelance reporting, a door opened and I ran through it in a heartbeat. However, I still had to finish school. There were two more semesters remaining and as a result my life became a balancing act between the job that I love and obtaining the degree that was at my fingertips. As a result I was left sacrificing time with family and at work to complete homework assignments. I would leave the office to go to the library to conduct research, to write or to edit.
While I loved every moment of it, there was always the sensation that I was missing out on work. Suppressing the urge to close the books and drive back to the office, or to a local event, or simply to take pictures of the City and its people was no easy task. Now that I am five days away from walking across a stage to receive my master’s degree, there is no better feeling than knowing that on Tuesday morning all I have to do is wake up, go for a walk, make breakfast (finally!), drive to the office and enjoy being the editor of Culver City News. Enjoying my job is the best plan I can think of now that school is over.