How Watching The Weather Channel Made Me Analyze My Life

Me playing with a blue screen at NSLC J-Comm program, 2009

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a meteorologist. That's right, I wanted to stand in front of giant green screens and tell people whether or not it would rain or snow any time in the next five days. And I may or may not be right. 
As a nine-year-old, I thought studying weather was the coolest thing in the world. I had my own dry-erase wall maps, which I used to track hurricanes and other major storm systems. I watched The Weather Channel for fun. I had favorite meteorologists like other kids my age had favorite actors. I eventually bought Weather For Dummies and read it front to back, multiple times. It was the first of many weather book purchases. I still own it. 

I was kind of a weather nerd.
Tonight I was flipping through the channels on my television while working on another blog piece, and I came across a severe weather alert on The Weather Channel. I stopped and listened to Jim Cantore, one of my old "favorites," report on a strong storm system in Nebraska. I immediately thought of my friend who lives in Lincoln and texted her to make sure she was safe. 
Then I thought, "I remember when I wanted to do that. I remember when I wanted that to be me reporting on tornado warnings and lighting strikes." Then I remembered that weather is comprised of math and physics and all sorts of science-y stuff, and that wasn't my thing. 

This could have been me (NSLC 2009). 

That's why I changed my mind and leaned toward broadcast journalism instead. Then I realized I hated being on camera, and I'm too creative for reporting. Enter, public relations and an impromptu second major in creative writing. 
With the thought of graduation becoming more and more real, watching The Weather Channel made me think about the what-ifs and what-could-have-beens. What if I had pursued meteorology? What if I had passed on my passion for words and writing to study the atmosphere and its patterns? What would have happened if I'd chosen storm-chasing over press releases? Would I have even gone to Virginia Tech? Probably not, as VT did not launch its meteorology degree program until my sophomore year. I would have had to study at a school that already had an established meteorology program, like Penn State or Georgia Tech. 
Don't get me started on the laundry list of things I would have missed if I hadn't gone to VT. It'd be over a mile long. Seriously. And I'm glad I don't have to think about what I would have missed, because I didn't miss them. 
I still find weather incredibly interesting, evidenced by the fact that I've been watching this storm report for the last hour. But I am glad I realized meteorology wasn't for me and moved on from that notion.
But I still like to flip through Weather For Dummies every now and then. I'll always be kind of a weather nerd.