Does Size Matter?

How my quest to answer the age-old question led me to the world of digital media

I’ve always had an itch for creativity. I have enjoyed expressing my creative side through more tangible means such as fashion, room decor, and creative writing, but for a long time, I struggled to find a way to incorporate it into the work I do in school and beyond.

Growing up, every few years my interests would waver, but my curiosity for science was constant. First, I wanted to be a vet. Next, a marine biologist. For a brief stint, I considered being an astrophysicist, because at the time I thought that meant simply getting to look at the night sky and search for life on other planets. Nope.

After feeling unfulfilled at my hometown high school during my first two years, I sought other educational opportunities and applied to a unique high school in Durham.

It only took two years at a residential high school for science and math to kill my childhood dream to become a scientist.

Multiple times a week during my senior year of high school I commuted from my school in Durham to N.C. State to do research in a lab with a mentor I’d found online. However, I soon found that working in a lab was way too stuffy and rigid.

For my project, I spent several months studying mating behaviors in fish, watching hours of mating footage and measuring fish genitalia (shown below) in pursuit of answering the age-old question: does size matter?

Here are what the fish I studied looked like. Hint: the male fish is on the bottom.

Although it made a fun conversation starter and made people laugh during my final presentation at the school’s research symposium (I included a size joke or two and also pictures of fish “in love”), the work I was doing wasn’t exactly fulfilling. I ultimately felt suffocated by the precision and repetition involved in lab work and desperately yearned for more creative freedom.

Suddenly, my world was turned on its head.

If I wasn’t going to study science, what could I study?

I learned about the public relations major at Carolina from a friend I met at orientation, and since discovering it, my confidence that I am heading down the right path has skyrocketed. Within the digital media realm, I can retain my love of using data to inform decision making. My experience in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill taught me that data and creativity are far from mutually exclusive.

Creating a PR campaign is actually a lot like answering a scientific question. Both processes involve leveraging data to reach a conclusion, only with PR, there is much more autonomy and creative flair.

You’ll learn more about my specific interests in other blogs, but here are some of the reasons I love my major and my school (and why I’m so glad I’m not a bio major):

• I’ve taken so many classes that expose me to real-world problems. Classes that involve real projects with real clients.
• I love working with a team! (It’s never lonely like it was in the lab.)
• STORYTELLING. It’s such a powerful tool.
• Coming up with a strategy based on existing data is a really cool process.
• I’ve learned some graphic design tools, some basic coding, UX best practices, and beginner’s video production and editing.
• I am completely fascinated by the power of metrics to drive campaigns to influence consumer behavior.

So all in all, I’m thankful for so many long hours spent in the lab. I’d like to thank not only the hundreds of fish in my research project for leading me to my public relations major, but also my school for instilling the confidence in me to combine the rigors of STEM with my passion for creativity, innovation, and digital media.