As I opened the letter sent by the Red Wings to my adviser Pam Bunka, I was caught off guard. Being someone who never really cared what went on or knew what was going on in the NHL, I was intrigued by the possibility of asking professional questions to professional athletes and a manager. I was also a bit worried.

Knowing little of hockey, I was concerned that my questions would be unintelligent. So it was understandable that as we pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Joe 40 minutes late, I was riddled with nerves. The letter said we would be asking questions and that we had to write a story.

As I crept into the Olympia Club room flustered and tardy, I was caught off guard by my surroundings. The room was filled with amateur reporters, cameras and members of the Red Wings PR department. Up at the table were professional reporters, the people I aspired to be. Kevin Allen of USA Today, Michael Caples of Michigan Hockey, Dana Wakiji from Fox Sports Detroit and the announcer for the Red Wings, Ken Kal.

“For me the job never gets old,” Allen said. “Jeff Sauer’s dad once said that he never worked a day in his life, and I feel the exact same way. There’s a lot of hours in this job and it’s a complicated lifestyle, but it’s always still fun.”

You hear this kind of thing from career guides and adults, but to hear a big name reporter go on about how fun his job is, despite the stress and workload, it just made me want it even more.

I was stressed out even after listening to the media members, watching the Red Wings practice from 10 feet away, and eating lunch. When you’re feeling stressed after eating pizza you know it’s bad. Tapping my foot, I watched Mike Babcock, the Wings Head Coach, walk up to the mic and draw the attention of everyone in the room.

“I’m here to talk to you about finding your passion,” Babcock lead off by saying. “You say you want to be a journalist, the first thing I would ask you is what’s a journalist? You need to find out, because it might not be as fun as you think.”

If anyone knew that, it was me. I’m no stranger to the negatives of putting your unpopular opinion out in the public eye, so what coach was saying resonated within me.

When he opened up for questions, I knew I had to ask mine. I raised my hand to get the mic and shakily asked about the expectations to win in Detroit versus a smaller town. After asking, I realized this was actually really fun, I wanted more.

After Babcock left, General Manager Ken Holland stepped up. As soon as I could, I rose my hand for that mic, I wanted to ask him something a bit more hard hitting.

“How much pressure do you feel from the fans to make a deal at the trade deadline?” I asked. This time confidently, and with my voice strong and not shaky.

“I made a decision two or so years ago to stay off social media,” Holland said. “Fans don’t understand what goes on every day. We want the same thing as the fans, but it can’t be democratic.”

Well, I certainly got what I wanted from the question. The nerves were gone and I was feeling good. The two hours spent just listening to these professionals speak went by so fast that I was left wanting even more.

“When can I do this again?” I wondered to myself as we exited the building. I just worked at my dream job for a day and gained interest in a sport that I knew nothing about. Not everyone gets that chance. The day was a roller-coaster, from showing up late to almost nervous puking to feeling in my element more than ever before, but it was a roller-coaster I would certainly ride again.