Why I’m a Journalism Major
Story By Yolanda Ramos

After telling people my major is Journalism, I usually receive unenthused looks
of approval then typically am asked the same questions, “Why?” or “Oh, Do you like to
write?” Sometimes they’ll add that perhaps I should choose a different major, considering the print industry is going down the drain. I tell them that as a Journalism major, I hope to one day work at a magazine, even though my major and career goal may one day not exist.

Writing has always been the only thing I didn’t suck at in school, and I enjoyed
doing it. I didn’t take an interest in writing until my freshman year of high school.
I was in A.V.I.D., and we had to write essays on personal experiences and analyze
characters from books, which I found rather boring.

First I had to read the book, which I didn’t enjoy, now I have to write about a character like I know them? The teacher called analyzing characters ‘reading between the lines,’ and I was like “Yeah whatever, here’s my essay on Alice from ‘Alice in Wonderland.’”

I found it easiest to write about personal experiences, since I feel like I know myself better than any other subject, and found out from my teacher that I was actually decent at writing when I like the subject. I didn’t start considering Journalism as a major or career until my senior year of high school. My English teacher made writing about current events fun, and not like an assignment, since every Friday we read the San Francisco Chronicle and had to write about what we read.

Technology is the biggest factor why someone may choose not to purchase a magazine. Most of my friends go to the internet when wanting advice, to know something about a celebrity, read about the latest news, or wanting a quick answer. I’m sure you’ve done it yourself or have heard the phrase before: “Just google it.” Also, there are lots of phone apps that offer the same information, which is something I’ve noticed within my own circle of friends. Instead of picking up the latest issue of People magazine, they’ve subscribed to a gossip site, where they get the latest celebrity news in a text. I’ve been reading magazines since about the 5th grade.

The first magazine I remember reading was YM, now known today as Teen Vogue. It had fashion, makeup, and social advice. I then started to read other teen oriented magazines, and in high school started to read more fashion based and women’s magazines. As I read through magazines like Cosmopolitan, Latina, and Vogue, I thought to myself “I could do this. I could write about this stuff.” I then decided I wanted to work at a magazine when I was older. Not just any magazine though, I was set on working at a women’s magazine. I wanted to be he one writing about what designer to wear, what colors were in this season, and how to not look like a hot mess. One of my favorite parts of a magazine is the advertisements.Yes, I think it’s ridiculous how they spend millions of dollars and take 100 photographs to only use one. Even I look at an advertisement and think “That doesn’t make me want to buy that dress,” but I appreciate them as photographs.

I visited the L.A. County Museum of Art ast summer and was in awe of the paintings they had, though I was even more amazed that the paintings were displayed so freely. They weren’t behind protective glass oranything, so you could touch it if you wanted to, even though you know you shouldn’t. I thought about how if too many people started to touch the paintings, how the museum would handle it. Imagine going to a museum and only being shown a digital image of a Picasso on a screen, not the real painting. It takes some of the power emitted by the image away.

I am a journalism major because I still believe in the power of the printed word
and the personas created and stories told by the images in magazines. As a second year
college student, I can’t help but be disgruntled when hearing the career known as a
journalist may one day be nonexistent. Not only because it is my career of choice, but
because magazines have more of an experience to offer than a computer’s digital screen.
I’ve know what I’ve wanted to do since my senior year of high school. After watching
The Devil Wears Prada, which follows a young girl just graduated as a Journalism major
who becomes the assistant of an editor at a fashion magazine, it made me want to pursue that career even more. Yeah, I know, some think it’s stupid to be surrounded by clothes and accessories all day then having to write about it, but it’s what I’m interested in and aren’t we all taught to do something we love?