Ambassador Maria on balancing passion and professionalism
By Maria Laguna
I remember the bursting anticipation I felt when I first started my freshman year. I wanted to immediately join as many clubs as possible and sign up for any unique classes that could fit into 18 units. Ultimately, I wanted to have anything and everything that would boost my resume, even while I was doing things I was deeply passionate about — like writing for different journalistic publications and engaging community service.
But, if I was doing things I had such a strong passion for, why did I feel so burnt out come May? Now that I’m over a month into my sophomore year of college, I feel completely at home at USC, but most importantly I feel balanced. Being a journalism major, I had to realize that while I adore writing, pushing myself to write professionally 24/7 was taking a lot out of me. The boundary lines become blurred when your major is your biggest passion.
With USC being such a fast-paced and competitive environment, it's no wonder I drove myself to solely focus on my major through a professional development lens. I want to make sure my professional writing flourishes come internship season while also balancing my high-rigor courses of entirely writing-based classes and numerous staff positions at on-campus media publications, or else I would feel like I fell behind.
I have learned now that I have to strike a balance of doing what I love for fun and for career growth. I can write a few articles a week for class, while also reading my favorite independent journalism platforms on Substack for pleasure or happily create a film review that never gets published and is only housed in my journal.
Moreover, I have also learned to engage in other passions, like film photography and fitness, that I’d abandoned while throwing myself head first into journalism.
So, while I would absolutely recommend another student to practice their passion professionally, I would also recommend that they don’t forget about other things that make them feel fulfilled and recognize that college is a time to further your love for work, not burn out.
