What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question that asks us to define ourselves from kindergarten to, well, forever. I would like to say that I struggled with this question, that it was something I wasn’t quite sure about. But at least from the time I entered high school, I knew the exact answer: I’m going to be a journalist.

This answer fueled every decision I made, from where I chose to attend college to what clubs I would join in high school. So, logically, as a freshman, joining the Daily Texan was my top priority. When I think about the anxious first days of freshman year, my brain jumps to opening my Texan acceptance email in my dorm room and immediately turning to my brand-new roommate and celebrating together.

Over the past three semesters, I have grown from a sports reporter to a videographer to finally creating my own role as the Director of Reels. My anchor amidst the madness of college was found in the basement and right next to me in the various journalism classes: my journalism partner in crime, Garrett.

Garrett and I met in J301F and proceeded to be inseparable in the video department. Finally, we grew to somehow oversee other staffers, and hopefully gave them a glimpse of the potential friendships that could be made. Kirthi soon joined our duo, and the three of us went from scared new staffers, asking every possible student to be interviewed on Speedway, to various leadership positions.

As I prepare to leave the Texan, wrap up my journalism career, and move forward, these are the people who tempt me to sit right back down in the basement and never leave. The P-Staff dynamic, which came to closely resemble a family: Amaya, the earnest father, trusting everyone to make the right decisions, and simultaneously providing the most philosophical advice when needed. Stephanie, the mother, who I loved getting into heated debates with just to strongly agree with her on the next subject. Of course, Kirthi, Garrett, and I: the siblings who trust each other enough to be brutally honest while also being each other’s biggest supports. A dynamic I am extremely proud I get to say I was a part of.

 And as I look forward to leaving this family in the next semester, I can’t help but go back to the question that started it all. What do you want to be when you grow up? The utter clarity of the answer led me to attending The University of Texas. This question forced me to have the confidence to fight for a pitch in a newsroom and, therefore, the same confidence to fight for my opinions as an intern. I learned to raise my hand among the best sports reporters, and suddenly it wasn’t that hard to raise my hand in a lecture hall of 300 students.

Without this rigid definition of myself, the person I am today wouldn’t be possible. However, I don’t know if I still have the same answer. So, what do I want to be when I grow up?

When I grow up, I want to lead with the empathy and patience of Amaya. I want to have the determination of Stephanie. I want to have been a friend like Kirthi and Garrett. I want to have the passion that the countless people I have interviewed have possessed. The truth is, when I grow up, I don’t think I want to be a journalist anymore. However, I am thankful for the Texan for giving me countless other answers to the question that started it all.