20something profile: Amanda

This post was written by Amanda, who was recently hired as an intern for an online magazine:

My name is Amanda. I am going on 24 and am a full-time college student as well as a full-time mother. Here is just a little bit of history about myself:

Before I graduated from high school, I planned to go to school for art/journalism. Well, I learned the hard way that plans don’t always pan out, and things occur that hold you back; major setbacks or minor setbacks, it doesn’t matter which.

At that point I sort of gave up on the whole idea of college when I found out I wouldn’t be able to take that scholarship to Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. Instead, I was going to become a famous writer/artist.

I ended up helping my mother raise my nephew for a while, and then I went through another hard lesson which led to me moving away from home overnight; and then six months later, I was pregnant at 19. After having my daughter, I started thinking about my education again. I knew that I didn’t want her to go without. I wanted her to have a better life than I did.

Now here I am, double majoring in Criminal Justice Administration and Human Services. In two weeks I’ll be officially a junior. Being a double major, I will not be graduating until December of 2015. It seems like it will take so long, but really it isn’t, and it will be worth it. I’ll end up with two Bachelor degrees in fields that are always in need of employees.

So far I have loved all the classes I have taken in both fields. In each major I have taken 3 classes apiece to get the feel of the field.  Other than getting my general education out of the way, I thought that it would help narrow down what I want to do. So far I haven’t made any final decisions.

Even with my majors, which are not in the Journalism field, my dream is to be a writer. If I can get into writing and have a career that way, so be it; but either way I’ll have my higher education to fall back on. I had a huge fear of going to school for journalism because in that field I feel there are no guarantees.

So if you think about it, in a way I have settled for my other majors; but since I have a passion for helping others, I realize that either way I go, I’ll end up with a career I love.  The way I have planned my future gives me several options to choose from — all of which I can be successful at if I work at it, and I’ll always have a backup. That is basically my intention.

I know just having the education isn’t enough in this day and age. You have to have experience or inside resources. That is why I choose to start looking for internships. Since I am free from having to be employed, I am taking advantage and going to do any internship I qualify for.

The more hands-on experience I have, the better it will be by the time I graduate. I think everyone who is in college and is in their twenties (those who don’t have any real work experience) should consider internships. This will help immensely, and all internships can be added to your résumé.

Basically, I choose fields where I would have plenty of options. I also have set aside time to work on my passion and see where it goes. It will not be the end of the world if I don’t end up writing for some magazine; disappointing, yes, but there are other ways to write and show my talent. I have my internship starting next week to look forward to.

Check out Amanda’s blog at ramanda429.wordpress.com

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