You know that movie “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey? The one where he decides to say “yes” to everything? That’s how I feel like I am sometimes. I have the hardest time turning down any opportunity that comes my way, regardless of how booked my schedule is. My tendency to overload is a blessing and a curse. One of my favorite qualities about myself is my ambition. Because of it, I am constantly taking on new things, building my resume, making new connections, learning new things, and (hopefully) getting closer to achieving my career goals.
The problem is I tend to take on so much that I barely have free time for myself. For example, I am currently interning 2-3 nights a week at KTLA, broadcasting 1-3 games a week for CMS and Pomona-Pitzer, writing one article a week (which includes an interview) for TSL, while simultaneously trying to network as much as possible, perform all my “barista lead” duties at the Motley, stay on top of school work, and write my thesis. I know, that’s a lot. So how do I do it all? I make sacrifices.
Last semester I had an informational interview over coffee with a woman who just graduated from USC’s broadcasting program. At only 22 years old, she has a great full time job with a recruiting website owned by Fox Sports. She gets to interview recruits, travel with USC’s sports teams, write articles and film online video clips for the website. She told me that people often ask her how she got her job. Her answer? “I missed out on a lot of college.”
Yep, I can definitely relate. I’ve learned that when I take on so many things, I need to start prioritizing. Sadly the first thing to go is my fun time. It sucks to get left behind when all my friends take a spontaneous Vegas trip because I’m meeting someone for an informational interview over coffee. It sucks when I can’t go to my friends’ dinner party because I work until 11 pm on Friday night. It sucks when I can’t go to the concert my sister has an extra ticket to because I have to broadcast a basketball game.
Over the last year especially, I’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices like those in order to do what’s best for myself career-wise. It’s hard feeling like I’m missing out on my senior year of college, but I know that all my hard work now will pay off in the long run. I also know that no matter how much fun I miss out on, the people in my life will always be understanding and supportive. My best friends will still be my best friends even if I don’t go to every party and beach trip with them. My mom will still love me even if she doesn’t get have weekly multi-hour long phone conversations with me. I’m not giving up my friends and family, I’m just temporarily giving up some of the fun time I spend with them. It doesn’t mean that we won’t be as close or have as good of relationships.
I am a firm believer in two things:
If you want something enough and are willing to work for it, you can accomplish it.
You can have everything.
Having those two things set in my mind is what made me realize that my career path is realistic and that I can be successful in it. While I’ve had to sacrifice some things (time is finite, after all), I can still have everything I want. The sacrifices I make are only temporary, and I have to remember that I’m sacrificing superficial things, like a beach day, not people. As long as I want something enough, I know that I can work hard to get it, or preserve it. Whether that means busting my butt to get my dream job, or making sure I preserve my close friendships, I know that I can have it all. I think it’s important for everyone, especially young people to remember that. The world is yours, take it!
In Eminem’s wise words (excuse his language): Success is my only mother****ing option, failure’s not.