Music, Calm, and Awards

Today started out worrisome, but turned out well after some successes.

1. I had a great shoot for my musician assignment in lighting. I photographed a banjo player whom I met in a coffee shop a few months earlier. She opened up about her training as a classical singer, being sensitive about her work, being an older student on campus, and even sang two of her songs. I was reminded of the benefits of photography in introducing me to interesting people and listening to their stories. I think people open up to me differently as a journalist than they would if I were just another stranger.
2. Writing out my options for my career gave me a deep sense of calm.
   
3. College Photographer of the Year results are cranking out and several WKU grads have snagged awards.
   

Goodbye Photojournalism

It's taken several months of discontent, introspection, and exploring other areas of life to reach the decision to quit the photojournalism major. I haven't loved the work that comes with being a photojournalist since high school. I have enjoyed meeting interesting people, pushing myself to create better images, and the opportunities photo gave me to explore different slices of life. But I don't enjoy the constant feature hunting, following people around, getting assignments, or the amount of time it consumes. The good doesn't outweigh the stress for me. I don't love the work, and that's reason enough for me to leave.

This is not to suggest that I've given up photography all together or that I'm severing all ties with the department. Photography is still a great value to me and I intend to keep up friendships with the PJ kids. I want to continue to dabble in studio work and learn more about video.

Finally deciding to quit the program is a huge weight off my shoulders. It's difficult to walk away from something I had been committed for several years to do. My biggest challenge now is figuring out what I want to change my major/career to now. I have it narrowed down to two options:

• Option 1: Commercial Photographer. Told ya I wasn't dropping photo completely. :) I really enjoy shooting portraits, events, and working with businesses/individuals to create visuals to market themselves better. This would include some weddings and senior portraits, but I want to branch out past those to change up my clientele. I'd like to even do some freelance journalism work. I'm considering marketing or entrepreneurship major for this career. I think these are far more applicable to my goals than PJ since it focuses on the business side of the job. I can handle the creative side on my own through practice. The biggest downside to these majors is lots of math and accounting classes. And I really hate math.
• Option 2: Deaf Child and Family Mentor. Eh, I'm still working on an official name for this one. I absolutely love sign language and have enjoyed working with kids at deaf camp. My experiences with deaf children have taught me that many deaf children are born to hearing parents that are either unwilling or unable to give their child access to the resources he or she needs to thrive. The biggest of these is language. Many profoundly deaf children get no exposure to language - ASL or English - during the first few years of their life when their minds are most apt to pick it up. The result is preschoolers who are unable to communicate and whose lives will be a constant struggle to master language and achieve good communication. I saw this in person and it was heartbreaking. The career I see is to help these children and families by providing exposure to sign language, advice on schooling and auditory aids, and perhaps even homeschooling depending on the child's circumstances. For this path I would do my undergrad in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education, hopefully with a minor in ASL if WKU brings it back, and a masters in Deaf Education from Gallaudet, a deaf university in DC.
  

Writing my options out like this really helps to clarify my goals. Though I change my mind day to day, I feel myself leaning more towards working with deaf children and running a small photo business on the side for extra money. I feel calmer now. Less like my life is a chaotic mess. I tend to over-worry.