Fourteen years ago this spring, I decided that I wanted to go to journalism school at the University of Missouri. It was a fantastic decision for me. I loved Mizzou, and was lucky to make amazing friendships there. But if I were offering advice to high school me, I’d make sure to tell him this:
Where you go school doesn’t really matter. What matters is what you do while you’re there.
I got so much out of my time at Mizzou. I realized early on that I was going to have opportunities to learn new skills and try new things, and I tried to make the most of that. College was a place for a number of firsts: I got my first broadcasting experience, as a DJ with a weekly show on the student radio station. I took classes in photography. I learned how to play the guitar. I took Spanish classes and studied abroad. I joined the student Senate and tried to have a positive impact on student life.
If I were in school today, I hope I’d go even further. I’d like to think that I’d be adventurous enough to try to launch a magazine — an actual print publication that came out a few times per year — or maybe start a podcast with friends. Or maybe I’d go to the editors of the school paper and sell them on the idea that I wanted to launch a daily morning newsletter briefing. I’d hope that I’d be motivated to create new spaces for others to write, publish, and experiment.
And those are the types of projects that you can take on at any school. I’d tell high school me: Don’t stress too much about finding the perfect school. Make sure you know if you want to go to a big school or a small one, a school in a college town or a major city. Know if you want to go to a school with sports (or lots of school spirit), or not. Understand the financial impact of the choice you’re about to make.
But you’re going to meet great people anywhere you go. Once you’re there, it’s up to you to learn and to build great things with the friends you make.
———
I took that photo of game day in Columbia, Mo.