This thing called life is so strange sometimes.
When I look back over the last year or so, at what has happened…. it’s all pretty goshdarn amazing.
I’ve been a blogger for nigh on 7 years, now. I wrote my first blog post in the fall of 2008, and I haven’t stopped. I’ve been discouraged, I’ve wanted to quit, I’ve felt like I was shouting into a void. But I didn’t. I don’t know why. Sheer stubbornness, likely. But for whatever reason, I didn’t quit. In fact, I wrote more words.
There is this quote from Goethe that I love:
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
At some point in the last year or so, I started to call myself a writer. I remember the exact moment, actually. I was writing a piece on The Harrison Hot Springs Resort, and I had just walked into the spa to get a massage. They handed me a glass of wine (awesome) and a form. On the form, in addition to listing allergies or medical conditions, they wanted to know your profession. I wrote writer.
Now, you could argue that I’m not a writer. I don’t get paid to craft words into sentences. I get paid to teach people how to use Facebook. But is it necessary to get paid to do something in order to claim it for your own? I don’t think so. I think if you have enough passion and excitement for something, you can call yourself that, and then work on making money from it.
I would even argue that there is a kind of magic (to steal from Goethe–he’s dead, he won’t notice) that comes of standing up and saying I am a writer. I will write. And as long as those two statements are followed by the appropriate action (writing), things, I guarantee you, will start happening.
I’m spending the summer taking a travel and food writing class to learn to get better at this, but I’m happy to say that I have two pieces that I will be getting paid for that will be published soon (well, October–print deadlines).
What comes next? Who knows.
But I think I’ll put Writer as my occupation on a few more forms, and see…
What’s your dream? If you’re feeling brave, share with me in the comments below.
And check out this great post by Alyson Stansfield: Introducing Yourself as an Artist