Last year was when I had first heard about the high school journalist day hosted by the Detroit Red Wings.

That year we didn’t even have a journalism class offered at school; a few years prior the class had been canceled due to lack of participation.

My English teacher, who taught journalism in the past, mentioned to my class how the Red Wings sent him an email about a journalist day.

He went on to explain what it was all about.

Automatically, I was intrigued. I have always had a love of English, and I deeply enjoy writing.

Journalism sounded like a class that would let me exercise that.

Also I loved hockey, and the idea of being able to interview Head Coach Mike Babcock, Red Wings players, and more sounded like a slice of heaven.

After my teacher  finished explaining the details, I automatically told him that I wanted to participate in the event.

He laughed and continued talking, but I knew from that moment on I was adamant to eventually attend.

If journalism was offered at my school the following year, I was determined to join the class and be sent to the journalist day.

Luckily for me, the school offered journalism the next school year, and I was accepted into the class.

I enjoyed it from the very start. The class was held in an impressively professional manner, and I felt like it was my duty to attend every day. It wasn’t just a class for me, it was a serious job.

I realized that this was something I wanted to continue doing in the future as a career.

As winter rolled in, I became anxious for my teacher to hear from the Red Wings. I hadn’t forgotten about the prestigious opportunity available to a member of the class.

All school year I had been dropping rather obvious hints about wanting to go.

I would wear my Howard winter classic jersey and bring up how awesome and exciting it would be to interview him and other players about their careers.

I even struck up conversations with my teacher about the journalist day and how amazing it would be to go.

These hints happened on a regular basis, and, finally, he received a letter concerning the journalist day.

Due to my high quality of work in class and determination to attend, he picked me to go.

I was ecstatic and counted down the days until the event, which was scheduled for Feb. 13.

Finally when the day arrived, the morning could not have gone any worse.

My father and I were stuck in a traffic jam, causing me to silently panic that I would not be allowed to participate due to being late.

I started rehearsing a depressing and devastating speech in my head to tell my adviser concerning why I was not able to attend the journalist day.

But to my delight, I was allowed in.

Automatically, I felt like I had just entered a professional atmosphere. Everyone acted and looked professional, dressed in business attire (except my dad, who was wearing a Red Wings shirt and ball cap).

The beginning interviews with USA Today national hockey writer Kevin Allen, Michigan Hockey editor Michael Caples, Red Wings radio play-by-play announcer Ken Kal, and FoxSportsDetroit.com writer Dana Wakiji went well.

They all spoke of journalism in such an ambitious, creative, and fun light; it sounded like a job only fit for the righteous.

“It never gets old for me personally,” Kal said. “The challenge is always there to try and see what’s going to happen and being able to describe it.”

It sounded like a great career with new and fresh stories always to be covered, something to be valued and thought of in the highest regard.

After their interviews, we watched the Red Wings practice, and I could not have enjoyed it more.

I even made eye contact with my favorite player, taking as many pictures as possible.

Running around with my camera and sports lens the entire practice, I felt like I was in my true element.

When practice ended, we went back to the Olympia Club for lunch and more interviews, the first being with Babcock.

After hearing from him and a few Red Wings players, I have never been the same.

I walked into Joe Louis Arena determined to start my journalism career right there. But I walked out viewing my future plans through new eyes, thanks to less than 30 minutes hearing from Babcock.

”You want to find your passion,” Babcock said. “Just keep opening doors for yourself. Create the best opportunity you can.”

He explained that the first thing you do concerning a career probably won’t be the last.

You may think that is what you want, but you need to educate yourself with all of the different possibilities you have because you may just find something better.

“Dreams come true through education,” Babcock said. “If  you do well, you open up doors,” Babcock said.

After hearing this it then occurred to me that with more doors opened, finding your dream career will become easier and more fun. It will feed and enlighten your mind with knowledge.

At first I thought I wanted to be a journalist, but after hearing from Babcock, I do not yet know if that is my passion.

I enjoy it, but there may be something better for me out there.

“I still don’t know what I want to do with my life and I’m 51,” Babcock said.

I am only 16 years old. I need to explore every option I have to find my true and utter passion.

This experience has taught me to have a broader mind and a deeper desire to learn.

Right winger Daniel Cleary also shed some light on the subject.

“I think the best advice to give is you have to love what you’re doing,” Cleary said.

Now I realize that without a deep love for your career, it will not be a career at all; it will simply be a chore, something you go to because you feel like you have to, not because you want to. To figure out what you want in life, you must educate yourself by learning new things. It will guide you to where you are meant to be.

I soaked up every word, and I have never felt so enlightened with advice concerning my future.

“This is what I hope you heard me say,” Babcock said. “‘Find your passion. Not what your mom and dad want you to do, what you love to do. Find a way to educate yourself in that area.’”

I would like to personally thank Mr. Babcock for opening my mind to these foreign thoughts.

I may not know what my passion is or what my career will be, but I know that education and determination will eventually get me there.

Let’s just hope I find out by the time I am 51.