The Life of a Female Journalist


Interning at KTLA, I have further realized how much I want to be a reporter. I love the whole newsroom vibe, and how friendly of an environment it is with everyone sharing the same place, saying hi to one another.
About a month ago, KTLA reporter/anchor Wendy Burch is currently doing a package on what she's missing in her life: http://blogs.ktla.com/wendyburch/2010/11/when-its-cold-wet-or-snowy-how-do-you-stay-fashionable.html
Not only did seeing this alarm my supervisors who were in their 30's, but somehow it struck me as well. Though I am 21, and still very young to even be thinking about marriage, let alone children, I think to where I want my life to be at at certain points in my life and getting married AND having children is definitely some place in the future.
I'm starting to realize the hard lifestyle that accompanies any reporter, but women seem to go through the most suffering. Out of everyone who tries to pursue a career in journalism, only a few make it. I know the chances are pretty slim, but sometimes you got to try and put yourself out there and I know not a lot of people are comfortable with that. Growing up as an only child, my whole family is basically my parents, and maybe that's how I'm comfortable with being alone. Ideally I wouldn't want to move to a small town and be a reporter, but if the opportunity presents itself, then I might just have to. And from what I know, the constant moving never ends there.
Moving around so much is not good for a woman's love life. Sure you meet guys here and there and date a few guys, who knows. But I believe there comes a time in almost every woman's life when we realize that we want to settle down and have a family. Sure that doesn't always follow that order, but the two go hand in hand. Many independent women such as myself feel that with success, a man isn't necessary to complete our lives, and family. But I feel that despite all the material things we may have in our lives, nothing can ever take the place of having your own family.
Life of a reporter gets really lonely at times. Hopefully it's not too late, when you finally get settled in your career location to start a family of your own. So should a woman always have a man in her life that she wants to marry? Or should she just live a life where her career comes first, and where she works really hard at it that nothing or no one would get in the way of it? It's typical for men to do the same, and they're not affected, but for women it's different because there's a time frame where women are able to have babies, that doesn't last forever! We all want our babies to be healthy, and to ultimately not bring complications to them or even us!
Yes I know I am too young to look into possible options for having my own family, but what is suggested for women aged in their late 20s is to start a good relationship with your gynocologist. Although it's becoming more common for women to get pregnant before getting married, sometimes not even marrying their baby's father, ideally it would be nice to have both.
One of life's greatest joys is having a family, especially the ability to have a baby that we can call our own and share our DNA. Of course the perseverance to create a successful career for ourselves is important, but in the back of all women's minds who essentially want to have a family of their own, women always have to plan for that part in her life as well.