Dear Journalism Industry, aka Jo.

We have a good bond you and I. I’ve read Family Circus and stories about Snoopy since I was six. Just me, some newsprint and a bowl of Cheerios.

You were captivating, and I fell in love.

Somehow too many people told me that I would make a great Katie Couric. I'm perky and tenacious you see. It's good and bad, but I got the idea that Katie would replace Barbara Walters and I would replace Katie.

In hindsight, I was wrong about Katie, but right that I loved it.

Jo, I pursued you with full force at Utah State, immersing myself in news classes, the school paper and taking internship after internship. That bit about you, me and the Cheerios? I used that in my first cover letter. Somewhere in there, newsprint became more important to me than broadcasting, so I majored in both.

I hit the real world hard. I bounced on the rocky pavement for a while. Post-college life taught me that things can get expensive. Fast. All of the sudden it was me and a mortgage and a dog named Missy. I realized -- even though I heard it so many times -- journalists really don’t make all that much dough.

But oh did I love being a reporter.

I fought through personal challenges (still fighting) and I pursued the career. Because the dreams was still there.

Dang it Jo, it's not me. It's you. Your personal problems got in the way of our relationship. You’re struggling, I get it. The layoffs at major newspapers and hiring freezes in every single locale that I ever considered living in hurt my hopes. My job canceling its janitorial service and raising subscription rates raised a question. And the mingling of the editorial and advertising staff to boost revenue, not being able to get health insurance really hurt my impression of you.

I can take out my own trash. I don’t mind. But you kind of lost your glossy polish when I realized I couldn’t move up. And my friends started losing jobs. I realized that I'm on the bottom of the totem pole, and I'd be the first to go and the last to stay.

That’s a problem you see, because remember that Katie Couric attitude? That commitment that won me all those awards in college didn’t go away just because you were struggling. I’m still here, wanting to get to the top…of something. Wanting to contribute to something. Oh, and I'm trying to put my husband through school and you're not helping contribute to the pot.

I started searching. And I found something great. Something that I’m passionate abou. Still communications – but on the flip side. At a company that’s thinking more, not less. Stable, with health bennies so I can go to the doctor.

I think we’ll work better that way. I’m not depending on a paycheck and can love you for what you are.

Oh but the memories Jo.

Watching soldiers be deployed. Interviewing the CEO of Sempra. Covering tragedies like plane crashes and the California wildfires and triumphs of the human spirit. There’s so much I’ll miss, but there’s so much I’m looking forward to.

I guess it's back to you, me and the Cheerios. I've switched to Special K. I hope you don't mind.

Adieu.