My love for writing started at an early age. I remember constantly writing stories in the second grade and I always wrote in diaries or journals. During my summers off I would fill notebooks with random fictional stories and write about what I did that day. It was my way to express myself.
By the time I was in high school I made the decision that I wanted to become a journalist. Mind you, at the time I don't think I fully understood that being a journalist entails more than just writing, but I went with it. My figuring was that it would pay more than what a career as an author would, so in the 12th grade, I started applying to various colleges that either had a journalism or broadcasting program. I knew I wasn't going to go to university, which is why I decided on the community college route.
I didn't get accepted into any of the schools I applied to, so I ended up applying for General Arts & Science as a way to gain some credits and fill my time until I could re-apply for the following Fall semester. I finally got accepted into the journalism program at Humber College, which was my top choice, in the Fall of 2003.
The journalism program at Humber was unlike other journalism or media programs (at least at the college level) because, in the second year, students were allowed to decide which media stream they wanted to specialize in. While I was in school the choices were print (which included newspaper and magazine journalism) or broadcast (which meant you specialized in radio and television). Of course, I went to the print route.
Typically, the journalism program at Humber College is a three-year program, but I decided to reduce my workload a little bit per semester, which meant that it took me an extra year to graduate. My figuring was that this was the best way for me to be successful in the program and looking back on it, I made the right decision. The program itself was definitely not easy, but I learned a lot of skills that made me a confident reporter and writer.
By the time I graduated in 2007, the industry was changing. Print publications were starting to dwindle, making room for the rapidly growing (and cheaper) online publications. Luckily, I landed an internship after graduation at TVGuide.ca, which led to a job as Listings Reporter (where I stayed at for about two and a half years).
During my time at TV Guide, I launched my food and restaurant blog Tasting Toronto on Wheels. I started my food blog in 2011 as a way to utilize my writing skills when I realized that my Listings Reporter job wasn't quite cutting it for me. I kept plugging away at Tasting Toronto on Wheels until earlier this year when I launched Ling.
Despite not being a working journalist right now (in its traditional sense), I continue to use my writing skills on this site and I like that I have complete control over what articles are posted. It's hard to say where my writing will take me in a few years from now but I'm quite content with where I am now.
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