Yesterday, as I was visiting my best friend in the hospital for a recurring E. Coli infection, and as I sat and waited for her to wake from her nap, in bursts her paternal uncle with many questions on my quest as a journalist and my political views.

I am a recent college graduate, who majored in journalism, worked as Editor-In-Chief of my campus paper and as an intern at the largest print news publication in the city of Houston during my last semester. He, an adjunct professor at a local university, taught me a few things about becoming a journalist in 20 minutes, that I hadn’t picked up in my four years of the journalism program during my college career.

“Who’s your favorite writer? Who helps you better your writing and inspires you?” he asked, shortly after introducing himself and firmly shaking my hand as if we were at a business meeting instead of two feet away from his sick niece.

I was completely taken aback and seemingly unprepared for any questions on what I’m planning to do as a journalist, seeing that I haven’t written an article since shortly before graduation and I’ve recently immersed myself in tweets and hashtag explanations on the police and victims being shot down in our country over the past few days.

“I’m still out on that,” I muttered, disappointed at myself for not knowing at the time or not being able to conjure up an answer as he eagerly waited for a response.

Although I read works from writers all over, those who inspire me most are derived from many outlets and many backgrounds, and I have always had a problem choosing favorites. The question is: Where do we, the millennial, emerging journalists, get our inspiration to keep the art of journalism alive? When so many people work so hard to discredit us, and tell us, blatantly, to our faces that the industry is dead or dying, what do we do to prove them wrong or put out best feet forward in pursuing a career in what we’ve studied so hard to attain a degree in?

He then asked me what I thought of Donald Trump.

I spat out a typical statement about his lack of political background, in addition to some other factors that make other candidates more suitable for the presidency. He interjected to bring to my attention the importance of studying psychology and body language when someone expresses their views.

“What I learned most about watching politicians is that what they really believe is truly visible when you have a grasp on psychology,” he said. “Studying them and the way they speak their plans is a surefire way to know of they’re the one for the job.”

So although we are taught communication: to study things like body language and tone of voice, we as journalists not only have to use those, but we have to observe them when it comes to whomever we are interviewing or getting information from.

It all comes down to this: you don’t need a favorite writer or to try and impress another intellectual to know if you want to be or are inspired to be a journalist. You just keep applying the same advice and principles you’ve learned over the past four years and learn to find inspiration anywhere-- even if it is across from your sickly best friend during her uncle’s fierce interrogation.