Opinion | From the EIC: Half way done
As the end of my senior year and time on The Panther lurks just around the corner in the new year, I’m thrilled about what’s to come. Photo collage by ANGELINA HICKS, editor-in-chief
I cannot wait to graduate.
But not in the usual way. I’m not super excited to leave college. After being a COVID-19 freshman, my time on campus feels cut short, especially since I’m graduating a year early. I don't have a ton of post-college plans solidified. I don’t want to move back home with my parents, but right now, I don’t have anywhere else to go.
Angelina Hicks, editor-in-chief
However, I’m almost begging for the capitalistic humdrum of corporate life.
Being a student is hard. It’s harder when you’re also working a full-time job. It’s nearly impossible when you’re working multiple jobs and taking max credits.
It took a lot of hard work to graduate early. I’ve taken six classes each semester and an interterm class every year. On top of that, I’m the editor-in-chief of The Panther, I’m a resident advisor at Chapman Grand and I have a reporting fellowship with Voice of OC, a local nonprofit newsroom.
Altogether, I work probably 50 hours any given week, in addition to my six classes, homework and exams. I’m constantly tired, hungry and on the verge of burning out.
I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining. I love all the work I do on a daily basis, and I’m so grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way while at Chapman.
It’s just a lot.
I can’t wait to graduate and have just one job. I won’t have any classes, honor societies, extracurricular activities, service hours, homework, finals or group presentations — just my 9 to 5, family and catching up on my favorite TV shows.
It sounds like a dream — one that I came to realize while sitting in the movie theater when I saw the new movie, “She Said.”
This was a highly-anticipated film for me this year since it’s about two reporters from The New York Times and the investigative journalism efforts that uncovered the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and lead to the eventual conviction of Harvey Weinstein.
Watching the reporters dive into a full-on investigation was exhilarating. They lived and breathed their stories. They flew across the world pursuing sources. They didn’t have anything to worry about apart from their writing.
For me, it’s been a struggle every time I’ve tried to write a piece that requires in-depth reporting. I’ve walked out of class to take phone calls. I’ve spent nights prioritizing writing over homework and classes editing breaking news stories instead of paying attention to lectures.
I’ve learned to tell sources that I have a “meeting” instead of class to sound more professional and less like a busy student when scheduling interviews.
In the movie, the characters had all day to work on their reporting. Their schedules were completely free to fit into their interviewees’ lives. All they had on their minds every day was their writing and reporting.
I want to devote myself to my work. I’m looking forward to the day when I can wake up, go into the office, work on my stories and then go home to my family. That’s it.
I’ve had a great experience at Chapman, but I’m almost out of energy. There’s just one semester left. While I’m looking forward to the end, I also want to make the most of the time I have until I walk across the stage at commencement this spring.
I’ll keep juggling in the meantime.