Christy James Current Positions: lead writer for fabfitfun.com; blogger for The Huffington Post
When I graduated from Elon I was a naive 22 year-old with a very short resume and a very big sense of entitlement. But why not? I had made the grades, completed the summer internships, gotten the recommendations and lined up enough interviews to keep me busy through August. I thought I had it all figured out. Then I actually went to my first interview and was greeted by 100 other candidates with the same great grades, awesome internships and killer recommendations. The “real world” pretty much smacked me in the face right there.
“How can this be?” I remember thinking, “I know exactly what I want to do!” That much was accurate. I did know exactly what I wanted to do.
I wanted to be a writer.
This turned out to be a problem. I didn’t want to be a reporter, I wanted to be a writer. And I couldn’t find anyone who would pay to hear the musings of an inexperienced college graduate from Virginia. Shocking, I know. So I took a job at an extremely small marketing company, confident that I would at least have the chance to practice some copywriting. Two years later, I hadn’t written a word of copy and I was absolutely miserable. It took six more months before I eventually found the courage to quit and go to another job. A job that, again, seemed to take me further away from what I really wanted to be doing.
I felt like I was running out of options. I couldn’t afford to take an unpaid internship but I still didn’t have enough experience for the paying jobs that were available. I was forced to stop and think about what I really wanted. Could I write for a company even if I wasn’t getting paid? No. Could I write on my own and be happy knowing that it might not ever turn into anything? Yes. So that’s where I began.
I started with a blog, which turned into a personal website, which actually started to get some attention. Turns out, if you write about what you know and love, people will notice. Feeding off that momentum, I applied for a blogging position that would actually pay. It wasn’t much, but I felt like I could finally call myself a “writer” if someone was paying for my thoughts. I worked on the application for almost a week, making sure the hiring committee would understand that I wanted the work more than anyone else applying (and there were a LOT of applicants). I got the job.
Suddenly, I had a portfolio that I wanted to keep building. I applied for more and more freelance gigs, following the same pattern of hard work and out-of-the-box thinking when it came to my applications. I said “yes” to anyone that needed a writer. Blogging jobs began turning into editorial opportunities and, one day, I looked around and realized I was doing exactly what I’d wanted to do since graduating six years ago.
It might have taken me six long years, but finally being able to say that I’m doing what I love feels pretty amazing. Today I work for Giuliana Rancic (of E! News) as a lead writer for her health and beauty-focused website, fabfitfun.com. I’m a blogger for The Huffington Post and freelance for multiple printed publications, both local and national. And all of it started with a blog. I can’t tell you how many people thought that’s all it would ever be.
I still constantly take on new writing jobs because I’m not satisfied just yet. Maybe when I’ve got a business card that reads, “Editor in Chief” or when my first book (which I started work on this winter) hits shelves I’ll feel like I can slow down. But probably not.
The most important lesson I’ve learned since leaving Elon is that no one will hand you your dream job, you have to ask for it. And if they all say “no,” that’s ok. Don’t wait for someone to open a door for you … build your own and create the future that you want on the other side.
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