I have an addiction and I don’t want any intervention.

That’s right, I’m addicted to Twitter and I don’t see it going away any time soon.

We have a little love affair, me and Twitter. We spend our days together, sharing jokes and stories about the daily happenings. I stay up all night, incessantly scrolling up to hear that joyous “pop!” on my iPhone to be refreshed with a load of quippy tweets from 533 of my favorite people and organizations — but that number has probably grown since the time of writing this.

I know, I know. You’re rolling your eyes and you think Twitter is a waste of 140-character posts asking celebs for birthday shoutouts and ranting about that rude guy at the bar who refuses to buy you a drink no matter how much you cry.

But Twitter is what you make it, just like anything else in the world.

For me, that means it’s a place to follow hundreds of people who are doing what I want to do when I grow up.

It started with just a few grammar gurus when I first got on Twitter a few years ago, and from there I went through zillions of lists to find hordes of copy editors and proofreaders to follow.

Cue me bouncing around, giddy to have found a bunch of weirdos who get excited talking about and debating the rules of the English language.

But lately, it’s become more than just having people to talk to about things none of my friends care about.

I’m making connections — be it very brief ones — with people who could have a say in whether or not I get a job in a year. Maybe. I hope.

In fact, one of my dear Twitter (and partially real-life) friends tweeted her way into her dream job by following and talking to people in the industry she longed to be a part of.

It’s that simple. Do some research, find some companies you could see yourself working at, find some of their employees, and get to tweetin’.

Not only could you be getting your name in their faces so they recognize you when you apply for a job, but you could get a little taste for what the job may be like.

It’s all about learning now. But that just means you need to be even more aware of what you’re posting on the web.

That’s right, keep the drunk tweets and play-by-plays of devouring a pizza to yourself. Same goes for the passive-aggressive song lyrics.

You never know what future employers may be tweeting in your neck of the woods.

Ashley Holstrom is a senior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].