Why I'm here

In my multimedia storytelling class this past week, we had our last lecture by the professor who, though in the beginning I thought she was harsh and unlikable, I had really started to like. She sent us off with words of wisdom about pursuing our desired careers in journalism. One of the things she told us was to think about why we were there, in that room, to learn journalism. I thought about it and came up with one definitive answer, which is obviously not the whole answer, but the first answer that came to my mind. I'm here because of Chuck Klosterman. I had always wanted to be a writer, but when I started to read Spin (back when it was good) and read Klosterman's columns for them, I started to get into the idea of journalism. Then I read his books. I think maybe, to a certain extent, they changed my life. My sister lent me Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs after she had read it for one of her classes. It was probably the most interesting non-fiction book I had read up to that point. It just had so many different insights about popular culture and made me think about writing in a different way. I think after that, I tried to mimic Klosterman's tone a little, but in my own way. It made me really think about what I wanted to write about as well. Junior year, when we had a free writing assignment, I didn't write fiction for the first time. I wrote non-fiction, but more, creative non-fiction I guess. It was the most fun I had had with a writing assignment in a long time. I think it made me want to do that for a living. Write about popular culture or something like that. That became my ideal career path. And that's why I am where I am now. Sure my ideal has changed a little - I'd rather work for a fashion magazine. But I still hold that desire to be able to write about popular culture and affect someone the way that Chuck Klosterman affected me.
Next Up: Why Ex-Girlfriend is my go-to sad/angry song.