A part-time excursion

Well, Saturday I start my second “job” at the Argus Leader with the Stampede game at the Arena.

The funny thing is that I’m not nervous at all. In fact, I’m pretty excited. Sure, I don’t have any idea what to ask the coach and players after the game, and I don’t know where to go or what to take notes on or who to consult, but I’ve got a press pass and I feel pretty important because of it.

I’ve got to start doing research – I’m not a hockey fan, and I haven’t been to a Stampede game in two seasons. I’ve got to dig up old copies of Stampede articles and discern from these what it is that I need to cover.

This is all a big deal for me. I don’t do stuff like this. I don’t aggressively pursue anything in my life, so the fact that I decided to take it upon myself to start working for the Argus, or start writing a monthly column, or even start this blog, is something that would have been out of character in the past.

Now, I feel like I can do whatever I want. I didn’t think I could write successfully, or that anyone would take me seriously, if I didn’t have the degree to back it up. I’ve found now that a degree’s specific major doesn’t even matter to a majority of employers. So what if I don’t have a degree in business management – I’m middle-management at a call center. So what if I don’t have a degree in journalism – I had a chance to be a part-time writer at a newspaper with the opportunity to move up.

So, with that hurdle out of the way, I feel like I’ve been cleared to take control of my future and do what I want to do for the rest of my life, career-wise.

And it all starts Saturday.

Go Stampede.