"Of course abuse is bad, but that's such a boring opinion."

If you decide to pursue a career in journalism, I wish you luck and recommend you invest in a bottle of good scotch for when you come home.

I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to write inspiring stories and work in a newsroom and meet real life heroes. I wanted to write biographies about the next Obama and Steinem. You know what I got? I got FOX news standards shoveled down my throat and told that if I wasn't willing to sell my soul to write a puff piece about the Kardashians that I didn't have a backbone.

I paid my dues, I wrote about sorority groups, quad festivals, professors of the year, and posed for idiotic pictures to use in the paper. I did my time and a year later, I was rewarded with a promotion to Editor of Entertainment. As Editor, we got first pick at articles if we wanted to write one. One of the first articles I chose was about a domestic abuse allegation against a football player.

My professor and Editor in Chief both recommended to me that I double check all my facts and leave my opinion in my opening and closing sentences. I had usually taken opinion pieces before then and, if you've read my other posts, you can probably tell that I do have a strong one.

I triple checked everything, and while I was writing about this disgusting player (Ray Rice, then running back for the Baltimore Ravens) a surveillance video was released of him punching his fiancee in an elevator.

I wrote a great article, filled with facts and pictures and other examples of cases of domestic abuse in sports from men and women. I included statistics of domestic abuse and the likelihood of someone reporting it. I included phone numbers for victims and other contacts for people who were ready to get help. I ended that article with my opinion that abuse was wrong and those who inflicted it were cowards and there was a special circle of hell waiting for them.

When my article was published, my professor pulled me into her office and handed me a copy of the paper. She said that she decided to but my article down to the bare minimum. I was outraged but I held myself back.

"Of course, abuse is bad but that's such a boring opinion." She rolled her eyes as she said it.

"Excuse me?" I was convinced that I heard her wrong.

"I mean, you couldn't have suggested that maybe the fiancee deserved it?" She shrugged and tossed her own copy of the paper on her desk. "Is domestic violence always such a terrible thing?"

"I have to go." I threw the paper on the floor.

"You're just going to leave before we review the paper with the rest of the staff?"

I stopped at her doorway and didn't looked back at her.

"Would it be such a terrible thing?" I said quietly. And then I got in my car and I drove home.

I poured myself a glass of wine and collapsed on my couch.

The rest of that semester was pure hell. After that day I walked out of class, no one would give me a real story; and the ones I did get I worked my ass off on. I was working every night till 2 am sitting at my kitchen table writing articles and correcting others. I was the last to leave on publishing nights, usually around 1 am, finalizing all layouts because everyone else hated doing that. I got all the crappy jobs and I did them all with my head held high because I thought that at the end of the year at the yearly conference that Editors were invited to that I would get an internship at a respected paper. The conference my professor put on ended up being three anchors from a FOX news channel who told us that they had no internships available and that we needed more drive. One producer there said he could put my name on a list if I went to dinner with him.

My professor told me that I should've taken the offer. Shocking.

I took a semester off after that. My dreams of glory died when that sleazy producer smiled at me and tried to slide me his phone number.

One friend at the paper tried to cheer me up afterwards, he took me to get a cup of coffee and told me that I just needed to wait and that not every job was going to depend on an offer like that.

I was done. I felt powerless and beaten down. After five months of working myself to the bone, working a full time job and then coming to school and working another 8 hours a day there just for the newspaper. Not to mention the other 3 classes I was taking.

So, to those of you brave souls who want to be journalists, I wish you luck. And a strong liver. And the ability to fight back for what you believe in.

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224

Psych Central - Call toll-free: 800-799-7233 (SAFE).

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 800-273-8255.

Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Hotline: 1 (800) 799 – 7233

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone and online chat.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) is available for anyone experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship.

Love is Respect – National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline

Hotline: 1 (866) 331 – 9474

Text: 22522

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone, text, and online chat.

Love is Respect offers information, support, and advocacy to young people who have questions or concerns about their dating relationships.

StrongHearts Native Helpline

Hotline: 1 (844) 762 – 8483

Available Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm CST via phone.

The StrongHearts Native Helpline is a safe, anonymous, and confidential service for Native Americans experiencing domestic violence and dating violence.

Pathways to Safety International

Hotline: 1 (833) 723 – 3833

Email: [email protected]

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone, email, and online chat.

Pathways to Safety International assists Americans experiencing interpersonal and gender based violence abroad.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline

Hotline: 1 (888) 843 – 4564

Youth Talkline: 1 (800) 246 – 7743

Senior Helpline: 1 (888) 234 – 7243

Email: [email protected]

Hours vary, available via phone and online chat.

The LGBT National Help Center serves gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people by providing free and confidential peer support and local resources.

Womens Law

Email hotline: https://hotline.womenslaw.org/

The WomensLaw online helpline provides basic legal information, referrals, and emotional support for victims of abuse.

Sexual Assault

Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) – National Sexual Assault Hotline

Hotline: 1 (800) 656-4673

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone and online chat.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

Department of Defense (DOD) Safe Helpline for Sexual Assault

Hotline: 1 (877) 995 – 5247

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone and online chat.

The DOD Safe Helpline is a crisis support service designed to provide sexual assault services for survivors, their loved ones, and other members of the DOD community.

Human Trafficking

National Human Trafficking Hotline

Hotline: 1-888-373-7888

Text: 233733

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a national anti-trafficking hotline serving victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community in the United States. The toll-free hotline is available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year in more than 200 languages.

Children, Youth, and Teenagers

National Runaway Safeline

Hotline: 1 (800) 786 – 2929

Email: [email protected]

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone, email, forum, and online chat.

The National Runaway Safeline provides crisis and support services for homeless and runaway youth in the United States.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

Hotline: 1 (800) 843 – 5678

Cyber Tipline: http://www.missingkids.com/gethelpnow/cybertipline

NCMEC serves as a clearinghouse and comprehensive reporting center for all issues related to the prevention of and recovery from child victimization.

ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline

Hotline: 1 (800) 422 – 4453

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone and text.

The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse. Serving the U.S. and Canada, the hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who—through interpreters—provide assistance in over 170 languages. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. All calls are confidential.

Boystown USA – Your Life Your Voice Helpline

Hotline: 1 (800) 448 – 3000

Text: Text VOICE to 20121 (hours vary)

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone, email, text, and online chat.

Your Life Your Voice is a program of Boystown USA and is available to children, parents, and families who are struggling with self-harm, mental health disorders, and abuse.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone and online chat.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline

Hotline: 1 (800) 950 – 6264

Email: [email protected]

Available Monday through Friday, 10:00am to 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time.

The NAMI Helpline assists individuals and families who have questions about mental health disorders, treatment, and support services.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Helpline

Hotline: 1 (800) 662 – 4357

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone in English and Spanish

SAMHSA’s National Helpline provides free and confidential treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance abuse disorders.

Contact the VictimConnect Hotline by phone at 1-855-4-VICTIM or by chat for more information or assistance in locating services that can help you or a loved one.