Follow your passion: How I became a sports journalist

I was confident I was on the right path. But that is when this thing called ‘passion’ intervened. People laughed at me

In 2007, as my ‘A’-level exams were nearing an end, I was confronted with that inevitable question: what to do in life? That’s when I began to assess my options.

Engineering wasn’t my cup of tea. I’d be having a laugh if I thought of becoming a doctor. What was I left with? The ‘easiest’ option available: pursuing a BBA degree.

Till the time I got into a business school, my life had been a roller-coaster ride as far as choosing a career was concerned. There was a time when I wanted to become an aeronautical engineer. Then, physics happened to me and that plan went down the drain. During my ‘O’-Level days, I thought of pursuing computer engineering, courtesy my newfound craze for technology but by the time I reached ‘A’-levels, I was told computers had become stale and there was ‘no scope’ left. I was back to square one.

Through these changes, there was one passion in life that remained constant — my passion for sports.

I watched, read and wrote about sports. Call it a lack of knowledge but I never thought of pursuing sports journalism. I graduated from university with a major in marketing. Without sounding boastful, I was deemed as someone who’d make it big in the field. I also landed a dream job as a junior brand manager at a multinational.

I was confident I was on the right path. But that is when this thing called ‘passion’ intervened.

I landed an opportunity to work as a sports journalist at one of the biggest newspapers in Pakistan. I discussed the offer with people I trusted and, unsurprisingly, I was laughed at.

They thought the idea of getting into sports journalism, while heading towards a successful career in marketing, was outrageous.

However, I gave the offer serious thought and realised that this was what I always wanted to do and there, I chose passion over career. I took the job and to date, I’ve had the time of my life. I’m doing something I love and am passionate about.

I don’t know what my professional life ahead has in store for me. For now, I am just glad I chose to follow my passion.

Who knows, one day, you could be seeing yours truly on TV bashing the Pakistan cricket team alongside Rameez Raja and Ravi Shastri?

Read more by Emad here, or follow him on Twitter @EmadZafar