Perhaps years of journalism have made me a skeptic. I didn’t honestly believe otaku journalists could devote themselves to ANY topic they chose. Simply because, through a mixture of priorities and chance, I haven’t made a career out of purely anime journalism.

But I was proven wrong. Again and again. And to be honest? I want my readers to keep telling me I’m wrong, and that otaku journalists can fight the odds to find success in whatever subject they want to report on.

That was why I was happy to hear from Chang last week. A longtime reader from Georgia, Chang told me he’s read “every piece of advice [I’ve] written” on this blog. I’ve actually written about him on the blog before, anonymously, answering one of his questions to me.

This time, however, Chang had a story for me. Or as he put it, “a progress report on how my path as an otaku journalist has been going:”

“I started on this path by applying to a website when I saw an ad that said they were hiring. It was a website I had frequented for years, and would have loved to be a part of. At the time I had ZERO experience as a journalist, much less an otaku journalist. I wasn’t accepted, and that was about 9 months ago.

“So from there, I started applying to different sites to gather experience for the next time I could apply. I worked for about 4 different websites, kept up my blog, wrote a multitude of articles, interviewed an overseas artist, and attended industry and guest panels for the sake of journalism. All of this was to go back to that site one day, and say, “Look at all this experience! How can you not hire me?!” It’s kind of like one of those corny villains that swear revenge when being defeated by the main character. I put in a lot of hard work, and your advice and website definitely gave me encouragement and the knowledge I needed to move on.

“The website I applied to before was hiring just this month, and I applied once again. That time around I had a good feeling. I felt that I put in a lot of effort compared to the other people that may have applied. I applied and got a reply from them within a day.

“They scheduled an interview a couple of days later. My first interview months ago had me as a nervous wreck, but this time around I felt really calm throughout the whole thing, which surprised me). After the interview was done, I thought that I’d have to wait a couple of weeks to get a reply from them. Surprisingly, I got a reply from them within a few hours and was hired! I was really ecstatic because all my effort really paid off!

“After 9 months, I finally got my first paid gig, and I actually got accepted by a website I really admired! During the interview, they seemed surprised by how much experience I gained during the time since I had last applied, and I thought that this must’ve been the deciding factor. Without a doubt, I am really glad I got into this line of work. Though journalism isn’t my major or main career path, I do hope to continue this work. After all, how could I not love writing about my favorite things in the world?”

As one of my favorite teachers, Alexandra Franzen, puts it, making your dreams come true isn’t rocket science. It’s doing what Chang did and working your butt off for them.

It was nothing more than a demonstrated history of hard work that got Chang his first paying gig. It’s not luck. It’s not being somehow “better” than other people. So let me ask you: what are you doing today to make your dreams a reality tomorrow?

Screenshot from Engaged to the Unidentifed of Niko, my current favorite anime journalist. Can’t vouch for her ethics, but I love her spirit!