At lunch on Wednesday, I spoke to a group of OSU Law students about my career and the winding path it has taken and what I've learned.
-
-
When I had been talking with the students, in response to a question, I told them outright: This was not my plan. I had not imagined this.
-
In each job I've had since law school — the law firm, state gov't, Metro Weekly, and BuzzFeed — I've just tried my best to do my best.
-
I've never had a grand plan—though I've certainly made coverage plans—for where my career will go. At some point, I realized that's folly.
-
I just look at what's in front of me and think, "What do I want to accomplish, what can I accomplish, and what do I need to do next?"
-
Sometimes that first question stops me in my tracks: What I want to accomplish, oftentimes, is everything! And, alas, I can't!
-
But, taking the time to think about what I ~want~ to accomplish, once I move ahead, helps me to frame and contextualize and prioritize.
-
Then, I can actually start thinking about what I can do. I see what projects I can move on — which plans are more than just ideas.
-
Then, I start doing. The emails, phone calls, research, reading, talking, going, thinking — all of the things that make this job such fun.
-
(That often is followed by, for me, the worst parts, the transcription and the figuring out of *HOW* I tell this story! Thank you, editors!)
-
And, eventually, stories happen. Sometimes this is all a 30-minute process when news breaks; other times, it takes months and months.
-
Eventually, those blocks (stories or cases or classes or shifts) build up — and you find that you're taking your career in a direction.
-
If you like that direction, keep going. If you don't, figure out what changes you need to make—and then start with the next, new small step.
-
And then, one day, you'll be sitting at your desk and get an email reminding you that you're a lawyer who decided to become a journalist ...
-
... and, seven years later, you got to fly to Alabama with the Attorney General of the United States and interview her on the flight home.
-
It's not the path I planned, but it's a journey I am constantly and forever grateful to be on.
-
#SCOTUS for opinions (and Paxton's presser?) in the morning, so, off to bed now. ... Night, all, and let us be good to one another. - 1 more reply
New conversation -
-
-
that is a lovely picture but protocol dictates I boo your Buckeyes thusly: Boooooooooooo
-
joined. I love Chris. I'd love him more (hard to imagine) if he had attended Michigan Law.
#GoBlue. - End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.