Write for Yourself, It’s the Only Thing You Can Do
“You’re a writer because you have no other choice but to write,” is a cliché that always made me feel not good enough to call myself a writer, or even really dream about it. I figured those other people who feel a compulsive need to write were better than me, that they were the ones who really deserved to pursue writing as a career.
So even if the only thing I ever wanted to do in life was to read and write, instead of going with plan A, I did the next best thing. Instead of writing about the world, I decided to learn more about it. International relations, history, politics, economics. It was a safer choice, I thought, and one I was not completely unhappy with. It made sense. To be a writer you have to be a reader. You have to be curious about the world that surrounds you, and gather as much information as you can to be able to then write about it.
I still hardly ever told people I wanted to write. It was a secret I held, only to be shared with the ones I trusted the most. One day I would be brave enough to do it, I thought. One day I would be a real writer.
I finished my plan B, my degree in international relations, still with no clue of how to get into writing. A Master’s in journalism seemed like a good plan C. I got in and stuck through it, noticing two important things. First, that writing was easy…
