Don’t Let Intimidation Get The Best Of You | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Don’t Let Intimidation Get The Best Of You

It's not an excuse for not accomplishing your goals.

9
Don’t Let Intimidation Get The Best Of You
The Art Of Tall

There are many fields of study that are dominated by men, like the military, construction work, engineering and law enforcement. That being said, there are women who have taken on the challenge of breaking down the stereotypes, but not enough to change the fact that men are the predominate figures in these roles. And there’s nothing wrong with male dominated fields -- there’s fields that women dominate as well -- but we shouldn’t shift our focus to a different area if what we have our sights set on is a field that may not have an overwhelming amount of women.

Up until recently, I wanted to be a sports reporter. If you ask anyone to name a sports reporter they’re not going to say a name like Kristine Leahy or Molly Qerim. Women aren’t known for their work in sports media. I realized, thankfully while I’m still in college, that I love sports and I love writing but I don’t think I’ll love writing about sports forever. This has nothing to do with the underrepresentation of women in that field of work. Working for a year or so, covering sports and being surrounded by a staff of guys didn’t bother me necessarily, but it did give me a different perspective on the issue. It’s not that women aren’t welcomed, but rather they’re not interested. It’s hard to find a woman who wants to dedicate her life to sports, off of the field that is.

I was asked by a professional in journalism recently why I picked sports when there are almost no women that are represented. And at first I thought, “Well, because I liked it.” But the more I got to thinking, it had nothing to do with whether I would be working with women or with men. When I thought sports was where I wanted to go I didn’t consider the fact that maybe I would be the only woman on staff. It hadn’t occurred to me until I was really the only woman on staff.

Sports is a little different because a lack of interest can be applied, but for many other areas of work, women may feel intimidated by the lack of their peers being other women. But that shouldn’t hold you back. Just because you’re underrepresented doesn’t mean that it’s not a career for you. You may have to work a little harder and put in a little more effort, but if it’s what you want to do, isn’t it worth it? And in some cases, things might even get handed to you. There are so many areas that are just desperately looking for women to diversify their staffs that opportunities might just fall into your lap. But don’t expect it, nor should you take it for granted.

Follow your passion and if that passion leads you to a field where there’s mostly men, I can almost guarantee you’re not the first woman to ever tackle that obstacle. Be encouraging to other women and don’t steer them in other directions in hopes of “protecting them.” If they want to try and make it in a place that isn’t crawling with other make up wearers and high heels clickers, let them. They can do it.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

Yoga love

A long over due thank you note to my greatest passion.

24969
A person in a yoga pose surrounded by a supportive community of fellow yogis with a look of peace and gratitude on their face the image should convey the sense of strength mindfulness and appreciation that the writer feels towards yoga
StableDiffusion

Dearest Yoga,

You deserve a great thank you.

Keep Reading...Show less
Arts Entertainment

Epic Creation Myths: Norse Origins Unveiled

What happened in the beginning, and how the heavens were set in motion.

6149
The Norse Creation Myth

Now, I have the everlasting joy of explaining the Norse creation myth. To be honest, it can be a bit kooky, so talking about it is always fun. The entire cosmos is included in this creation myth, not just the earth but the sun and the moon as well. This will be a short retelling, a summary of the creation myth, somewhat like I did with Hermod's ride to Hel.

Keep Reading...Show less
Old school ghetto blaster sat on the floor
8tracks radio

We all scroll through the radio stations in the car every once in a while, whether its because we lost signal to our favorite one or we are just bored with the same ol' songs every day. You know when you're going through and you hear a song where you're just like "I forgot this existed!" and before you know it, you're singing every word? Yeah, me too. Like, 95% of the time. If you're like me and LOVE some good throwback music, here's a list of songs from every genre that have gotten lost in time, but never truly forgotten.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

27 Hidden Joys

Appreciation for some of life's most discredited pleasures.

36468
Best Things in Life

Life is full of many wonderful pleasures that many of us, like myself, often forget about. And it's important to recognize that even on bad days, good things still happen. Focusing on these positive aspects of our day-to-day lives can really change a person's perspective. So in thinking about the little things that make so many of us happy, I've here's a list of some of the best things that often go unrecognized and deserve more appreciation:

Keep Reading...Show less
beer on the beach

Summer is hot and humid, and it's almost like summer was made specifically to drink the refreshing, cold, crisp wonderful, delicious, nutritious nectar of the gods. Which is none other than beer; wonderful cold beer. With summer playing peek-a-boo around the corner while we finish up this semester, it's time to discuss the only important part of summer. And if you haven't already guessed, it's beer. There are few things I take more seriously than my beer, in order are: sports... and beer. Here are my favorite summer brews:

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments