So, The Big Game is a week away.

But, for me, the playoffs are still going on.

Because while football season might be ending, awards season is still going strong.

Don’t get me wrong – I do love good competition. I want to see the Seahawks take on the Patriots. And I’m just as interested to see Redmayne take on Cumberbatch.

The Red Carpet is a gridiron in its own right. Players (actors and actresses) have coaches (PR teams) guiding them toward the other end of the field (the ballroom) while interacting with the other team (interviewers) all within a certain amount of time.

The uniforms might be slightly more glamorous, but I suspect the spirit of competition is just as gritty.

The Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Producers and Directors Guild Awards? Those are *my* playoffs.

Fashion Police? That’s *my* Monday-morning Quarterback.

The Oscars? That’s *my* Super Bowl.

I’m ready for The Big Game.

Sometimes, a split-second decision changes the course of your life.

I never planned on having a career in communications. But 20 years ago this year, I figured out that’s exactly what I was meant to do.

Growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer. So much so that my parents said I would pull my dad’s law books off his shelves and “read” them. Glass ceilings were starting to crumble, and I had visions of power suits, high heels clacking on marble courthouse floors and shouts of “Objection!”

So when some of my friends decided to join our high school newspaper staff, I thought, “Why not?! It’ll look good on college applications. And I love my English and literature classes.” On a whim, I joined the staff, too.

And I haven’t looked back since.

It didn’t take me long at all to fall in love with the Fourth Estate. I loved learning all I could about journalism. I loved learning to gather and share stories. I loved learning to puzzle them together on a newspaper page (yes, by hand – before any fancy design software!).

Two degrees and 20 years later, journalism is still my passion. The stories journalists tell are every bit as important as the stories told by novelists, poets and songwriters. They give us insight into the world around us every single day, and there’s so much value in that.

I may have started out wanting to be like Amal Clooney but ended up becoming more like MacKenzie McHale. And I’m more than OK with that. After all, they both wear fabulous shoes.