Never work a day in your life

Almost everyone, at some point or another has heard the famous quote from Confucius, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

From an early age, I knew I wanted to work in journalism. While the exact position I want to have has shifted slightly over the years as I have gained experience through classes and working for my high school’s newspaper “The Pitchfork,” and now working for “The Patriot,” my desire to work in news has not wavered, until now.

Even though this semester isn’t over yet, it has honestly been the worst semester I’ve had in my entire life. I’m taking five classes, a lab and the honors thesis workshop to prepare to write my honors thesis in the spring. On top of that, I’m on leadership with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, a tutor in the Writing Center and the editor-in-chief for “The Patriot.” I’m also engaged planning a wedding that is approaching faster than I would like and trying to train my new puppy to not eat everything.

It sucks.

I’ve never been busier in my entire life. I’m constantly running from class to class, meeting to meeting and job to job. That doesn’t even include homework, spending time with friends or any of the other things that make being in your early 20s fun. Yet, I can’t seem to catch a break. My “to-do” list grows faster than my “done” list, and all I want to do is go home, snuggle with my puppy and sleep.

Because I’ve been so busy this semester, things I used to love doing have turned into obligations I wish I could avoid. Laying out the newspaper used to be one of my favorite weekends each month, but now it’s just another weekend I have to give up. It’s not fun to sit in “The Patriot” office on Saturday with my friends and work on the paper because I’m constantly distracting myself with the 10 other things I have to remember to do when I get home. It’s not fun to get phone call after text after email about the errors in the most recent issue of the newspaper.

There’s always an event that’s been rescheduled for after our publication date or a schedule changed meaning someone can’t cover a story anymore or an email that needs a response as soon as possible. With so much else going on, it’s hard to enjoy something that never seems to stop.

As much as I love working for “The Patriot,” pursuing stories and working with a great staff and advisor, I’m honestly not sure anymore if I want to put myself through all of the stress, aggravation and constantly feeling like I don’t have time for a break that comes with working in news.

I love media, telling stories and being a part of something so much bigger than just myself. But I hate the lifestyle.

So my advice to myself and others would be, don’t just choose a job you love. Choose a job you love that comes with a lifestyle you can handle and that gives you the time to do the things you want to do. That’s the only way you’ll never work a day in your life.