Everyday, cruelty and cynicism wreak havoc throughout the unfair world we live in. As poverty grows hastily in developing nations and terrorist attacks take the lives of millions, devoted journalists can be found eagerly scribbling down every last word of each disheartening incidence in order to make a living. As intrinsically dismal stories flood the news hour after hour, a vehement writer can be found cogitating in the shadow of those words. Reporting is essentially a direct way of writing the instructions, or perhaps the rules, for how global culture functions. Many admire the passion and dedication of journalists who report such depressing news every day without adopting a misanthropic persona. However, there is always a flipside to every coin. For every fervent reporter, there is always at least one menial, unaware journalism major lacking the direction required to make it in such an impassioned discipline.

For the journalism majors that sit in class day after day, uninvolved and underworked, the world will soon sort you out in a manner relative to your mediocrity. In order to be whole-heartedly successful, any field of study worth working in requires ambition and vigor. So many individuals do not show up to the world on a daily basis; they go through life without knowing what’s going on right outside U.S. borders. Social media floods our so-called “news feed” with what is often deemed to be fake or irrelevant news. Studying news reporting requires remarkably more than just scrolling through Facebook and showing up to your visual aesthetics class. Ultimately, it requires the adoption of a redesigned lifestyle – a lifestyle that morphs one’s mindset into a psyche that embraces all outlets of news. From The Washington Post to The New York Times, from NPR to BBC the information floating just within our reach is both innovative and absolutely endless. It is time for all journalism students to become fully immersed in global and political news. The future is in our hands – in order to be able to manage that future effectively, it is inherent to read the rules first.