... And do professional writing, technical writing, or public relations, but there's a shortage of jobs in these fields, too.

An automatic license suspension occurs in every US state when the authorities send their notice of probable cause to the BMV. Also, if he refused to take a breath test, there is another license suspension that is a year in most states - before you plead guilty - just based on probable cause. So stop assuming he's had multiple DUI's.

Just look for the magic angry hot button bullshit that people want to read, and write about it. Facts don't matter, reality doesn't matter. The topic doesn't even matter. Just yawp and scream and shake your fist.

Or you could perform a rimjob on Glenn Greenwald. Your call.

About burying the lede. The real story, I think, is in the DUI.

Honey (can I can call you honey? I have kids older than you), if you lost your license from a DUI, and you were a white college student, I have to ask the obvious question: Was this your first offense?

And if you lost your license, didn't they also order you to attend AA? I know DUI sentences vary from place to place, but this is how it usually goes.

If you're not in AA, maybe you should go. You don't think you need it? That's okay, it'll be useful to you as a writer. Go and listen to the stories about people struggling with their compulsions. Write about those compulsions, if only for yourself. (Observing the rule of confidentiality, of course.)

Stop using the word "journalism." You're an observer. There are still niches in the world for people who notice things others don't. In my career path, I spent 15 years as a full-time journalist but also apprenticed as a lay midwife, did sales and worked as a private eye - all of which required me to watch closely.

You don't have to decide anything this minute, except how to keep a roof over your head. Then worry later about the details - because frankly, if you're really meant to be a journalist, nothing will stop you.

It's okay if you change your mind; your life's path is never carved in stone. Lots of people decide they don't want to follow the path they thought they wanted and inadvertently stumble onto something else that makes them passionate.

Life is like that. Something will happen to clarify your mind, one way or another. Just breathe for a while.

If you think you're the only journalist with a DUI conviction, you ARE new at this...

As a cub reporter for a local newspaper back in the day, I once had to write a story about our metro editor's drunk driving arrest...

Seems Cary has no editor and needs one. It takes him roughly 2,000 words to say "suck it up."

As a print journalist of 25 years who's now working freelance myself, I can say journalism isn't dead. It's just changing. If you can understand where it's headed (online, multimedia, wireless, video, blogs, tweets, whatever) then you're eight steps ahead of everyone else. Thing is, journalism's up in the air at the moment. No one knows where it will land. It's obvious (and has been obvious in hindsight) that it's been done for quite a while.

Anyway, don't give up on it. It's not dead. Think about how you can adapt to different media--there's an art to writing short, intense, just as there's an art to writing long and windy...

First, as some of the people here have said, get your head togetyer about the liquor. The hard-drinking newsman should be a thing of the past -- or if not, it should not be you, because, clearly, you can't take it.

You've got the skills. USE them while you're making enough money to get out of your parents' house. Get yourself some street cred writing online. Paylay that into a job in corporate communications or an electronic paper. Get yourself on LinkedIn and start networking for all you're worth.

The world is full of writers who need a home. The ones who get a home are the ones who work for it and don't wait for the world to recognize their talents.

Steele's being his usual bigoted self, but he has a good point. Develop some specializations that you can point to when you interview.

Okay! This is what you do.

1) Quit worrying about finding a journalism job. Work your current ice cream gig, as many hours as you can, and if you can get a second job, do that as well, until you get about ten grand or so banked. Then quit your job(s).

2) Do something interesting. I don't know what, that's for you to decide. Join the Hell's Angels, join the Peace Corp, hike the Appalacian Trail, infiltrate the Hari Krishnas, if they're still around, fly to Thailand and investigate those child brothels American perverts are always patronizing. The something really doesn't matter, as long as it's interesting.

3) You see where I'm going on this? Okay, I'll spell it out - write your book. Yeah, it's not exactly what you planned on, but it's writing, it's journalisn, and it made people like Hunter Thompson and Bill Bryson rich.

Why not? You're young, you're healthy, you have no dependents, and if doesn't work out you could always go back to school and be a plumber. But you'll always have that experience. I wish you all the best.

Oh, and quit drinking.

Forget the death of print journalism. Forget your brilliant undergrad career. YOU GOT FIRED FOR A DUI.

Why? First of all, why were you drinking to the extent that you were legally drunk, and then DECIDED TO GET BEHIND THE WHEEL of a car? Was/is this a behavior that you engage in routinely? Both the getting drunk and the driving while that way? Because, frankly, Dear, I wouldn't hire you, either, if that recent DUI was staring at me. It IS a competitive market in journalism, print and otherwise, and there are plenty of new grads who have clean records.

So. If you are currently drinking, stop. I don't mean cut down, I mean stop. Alcohol is a depressant, and you are depressed enough without the alcohol. If you cannot stop, well, that tells you something about yourself, and you have more problems than just a crappy market for print journalism.

But, assuming that you can stop, your next step is to do things. Go places, see sights. It's summer. You can ride a bike, if you need to. But get out, so you can get out of your own head. Do it every day, even if it's just going to your parents' house after a day of making Funky Monkey, and take the dog for a walk.

This is life. This is adulthood. Things don't go as we plan, and the people who love us, help us out (your parents are not responsible for keeping your cell phone running, they're doing it because they love you). But, in the end, it's OUR job to get the help we need, whether it's sober companions, therapy or having a talk with the owner of an ice cream company about how much more valuable you would be to her if you were marketing her product instead of making it.