Stay true to what you know and love. Let your passions forge your path.
For as long as I’ve known I wanted to be a journalist, I have sized myself up against my peers: Does my resume stand out? Have I developed a strong voice? Do I have the technical skills to match the writing?
Beyond the questions that any journalist could ask themselves, I always thought I fell short in one category: I didn’t have a clear beat.
To clarify, in the journalism world, a ‘beat’ is a certain subject or genre that a journalist covers often and, hopefully, well. Some examples include sports, politics and my personal favorite, food. My problem with claiming food as my beat was that I love to write about it but I’ve rarely gotten the chance to do so for published work.
There was also one more problem: if I were truly honest, my beats would be Dance Moms, Teen Mom (OG and 2) and Food Network (with an emphasis on Chopped). These are the “subjects” I know the most about. I can tell you all the times Nia cried on camera (which are few and far between because she’s amazing); I do a great impression of Maci saying her son Bentley’s name in that Tennessee drawl; and my siblings and I pretend to be Chopped judges whenever there’s food in front of us (yes, we are all 12 years old).
Guilty pleasure TV is one of my favorite things, but I’m currently too loyal to specific shows to call myself a pure entertainment writer, and I didn’t have enough food writing experience to claim that as my beat, either.
So what?
Okay, okay I’m rambling. Here’s the deal: I always felt that I had something extra to prove with my drive or my writing ability or my networking skills because, unlike my peers, I hadn’t focused in a single traditional beat.
Then something amazing happened.
My freakish obsession with Food Network qualified as my beat. Or it at least got my foot in the heavy glass door that leads into the office of Maile Carpenter, founding editor-in-chief of Food Network Magazine – also known as my new boss.
I’d spent so much time measuring my success with someone else’s ruler that I couldn’t see the height of my own potential. After months of thinking that I was just one of thousands of recently graduated magazine journalists, I finally saw that I had something unique to offer, and that it would lead me to the place where I was meant to be.
Some people spend hours analyzing sports games. Others have their eyes glued to election coverage. Me? I just can’t get enough of Ted Allen lifting that silver cover off of the chopping block.
If it seems like you’re moving in slow motion while everyone speeds ahead toward a clear destination, take a moment to look inward and consider what gives you an edge. Always remember that you can only see everyone else’s finished product as you continue working on your rough draft. Most importantly, don’t ever let yourself think that you are not qualified, not worthy, not capable – if you let your passion and talent lead, you’ll find that the path ahead has already formed, just for you.
Beyond the questions that any journalist could ask themselves, I always thought I fell short in one category: I didn’t have a clear beat.
To clarify, in the journalism world, a ‘beat’ is a certain subject or genre that a journalist covers often and, hopefully, well. Some examples include sports, politics and my personal favorite, food. My problem with claiming food as my beat was that I love to write about it but I’ve rarely gotten the chance to do so for published work.
There was also one more problem: if I were truly honest, my beats would be Dance Moms, Teen Mom (OG and 2) and Food Network (with an emphasis on Chopped). These are the “subjects” I know the most about. I can tell you all the times Nia cried on camera (which are few and far between because she’s amazing); I do a great impression of Maci saying her son Bentley’s name in that Tennessee drawl; and my siblings and I pretend to be Chopped judges whenever there’s food in front of us (yes, we are all 12 years old).
Guilty pleasure TV is one of my favorite things, but I’m currently too loyal to specific shows to call myself a pure entertainment writer, and I didn’t have enough food writing experience to claim that as my beat, either.
So what?
Okay, okay I’m rambling. Here’s the deal: I always felt that I had something extra to prove with my drive or my writing ability or my networking skills because, unlike my peers, I hadn’t focused in a single traditional beat.
Then something amazing happened.
My freakish obsession with Food Network qualified as my beat. Or it at least got my foot in the heavy glass door that leads into the office of Maile Carpenter, founding editor-in-chief of Food Network Magazine – also known as my new boss.
I’d spent so much time measuring my success with someone else’s ruler that I couldn’t see the height of my own potential. After months of thinking that I was just one of thousands of recently graduated magazine journalists, I finally saw that I had something unique to offer, and that it would lead me to the place where I was meant to be.
Some people spend hours analyzing sports games. Others have their eyes glued to election coverage. Me? I just can’t get enough of Ted Allen lifting that silver cover off of the chopping block.
If it seems like you’re moving in slow motion while everyone speeds ahead toward a clear destination, take a moment to look inward and consider what gives you an edge. Always remember that you can only see everyone else’s finished product as you continue working on your rough draft. Most importantly, don’t ever let yourself think that you are not qualified, not worthy, not capable – if you let your passion and talent lead, you’ll find that the path ahead has already formed, just for you.