Veejay Calutan on Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

College life is not what I think of before. I imagine college like happy go lucky, much allowance than high school and other things that I never experience during my primary and secondary years. But I am completely wrong. Then for me to know the truth about college life, I grab the opportunity to study.

Choosing the best course for you isn’t the most exciting to do but you must take it seriously. Your chosen course somehow would determine what your career path would be.

When I entered college, I chose to take History as my major. But my father did not want it for me so he demanded to me to shift into a science or engineering course. This did not happen. I still chose to take a social science course, which is Journalism.

I chose Journalism because of some reasons. One, I have a little bit background in Journalism. I was a columnist in our student publication during high school. Two, I wanted to go back to the Philippine Collegian. I left it because I felt like I am not qualified to the demand that the Philippine Collegian needed. And three, writing is my passion. I love to write any kind of writings. I am enjoying with this course and my father will never have anything to do with it.

I chose Journalism because I found many interesting things about it. First, it is a very flexible course. Meaning, many jobs await me when I graduate. From being a future writer or a reporter to the field of public relations and advertising would be my choices. And second, Journalism would make me a good interviewer. I want to interview people, write about them, and help them.

I am only in my first year in Journalism (second year in the university). But I am taking two major subjects that welcomed me to the world of Journalism and one of them is the Introduction to Journalism. In this subject, we are doing things like lead writing, news writing, and blogging. We also go out in the university, go to a police station to work for a spot news, and interview people. It is a little bit kind of fieldwork.

With these small things I experience in Journalism, it is very much advisable to take. To those students or future students of Journalism, just study hard and follow what you want. If you think you have a plus in writing, go for it. Journalism can be a good background for a writing career. Studying within four sides of a room is not enough. You must go beyond it and discover things. I am new to the Journalism program but it taught me a lot. I realized that Journalism is not all about writing an essay or novel. It is all about writing a story with facts and information that people need to know. And more importantly, it boosts my self-confidence and social interaction among different people.

I am sure that I am in the right path. I am only in my first year but Journalism brings me already to an exciting journey. I used to imagine things how I see myself in the future holding a BA Journalism degree. Let us see what my course now will still have to offer for the next two years. And my college life is just starting and there are still many things I need to know.

Veejay V. Calutan is a sophomore student taking Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at University of the Philippines – Diliman. A passionate writer and keen observer, he is currently serving as the Documentation and Library Committee Director of the UP Lipunang Pangkasaysayan. Follow him on twitter.