Epiphanies in Kroger

Today I went to the grocery store to buy flowers, kettle chips and green grapes. When I was in the check-out line, my cashier engaged me in a few minutes of polite conversation - what I was doing for Thanksgiving, where I was from, and so on.

Then, she asked me, "So what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Immediately, I responded, "A journalist."

After I thanked her and started walking to my car, I started thinking about that little snippet of conversation. First of all, I realized I wasn't offended by the fact that she didn't consider me "grown up" yet. In my mind, I'm never going to reach a point in my life where I'm like, "Oh, this is what I wanted to be when I grew up." I think I'm always going to be challenging myself and finding new ways to use my skills to help others. The job that I start out with will be nowhere near the job that I'll end with. And I'm more than okay with that.

Secondly, I thought about my response to her question. The first thing that came to my mind wasn't "reporter" or "copy editor" or "ad salesman." First and foremost in my mind, I am a journalist. So what is a journalist and what does that make me?

Wikipedia says that a journalist (or newspaperman?) is "a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for non-bias viewpoint."

In that sense, yes, I definitely consider myself a journalist. But I feel like being a journalist today is so much more than just gathering and disseminating news.

Being a journalist is giving people the tools they need to live life to the fullest. Being a journalist is being a citizen. It's serving your country. It's doing what you know is right. It's providing information in all forms. It's being a neighbor. It's creating a safe haven for people to share their views and talk with each other. It's truth, and it's justice.

And I'm going to continue being a journalist, whether I'm grown up or not.