An Update and a Question for You

The back-to-school commercials have aired and a bombardment of first-day-of-school photos clutter the Facebook news feeds. Yes, it's that time of year again - school is in session.

I want you, my loyal blog readers, to know that I will not be joining the fray this year.

Why does this matter to you whether or not I am a student? Well, because a few of you have been there from the beginning when I started this blog out of my college dorm. Others have perused the multiple college class/life posts I wrote at the beginning of this blog's life. But more importantly, I think I can sneak another message out of this one.

Here it goes: You don't need a fancy degree to achieve your goals or get the places you want to be. Especially if you're a writer. (If you want to be, say, a doctor, you may just have to stick it out. Sorry.) But to be a writer you need to...what?...Write! This goes back to the very first post I made in this blog. We're writers not because we have agents or ebooks or publishing deals. We're writers because we write. Plain and simple.

Ask yourself this question - would you rather have the degree you're "supposed to" get, but be no better of a writer than when you started; or, would you rather be degree-less but have worked your way into the writer you always longed to be?

Yeah, that's the question that got me thinking.

Now, I'm not trying to discourage people from going to college, or encourage our current college students to drop out, but I do want to get you thinking. What is going to be most beneficial to you in the long run? If, say, you're in college now and it's strengthening your skills and helping you sort out your weak points - great! You've hit the jackpot. For many of us, this doesn't happen. If, like me, your high school counselors and college professors told you you'd go nowhere without a degree, but the whole process just isn't working for you - this is the time to step back. Think about what you really want.

For me, it was to be the best writer I could possibly be. This meant dropping the student loans, school colors, and cramped living quarters. It meant picking up a job, a writing group, and a few stand-alone writing classes that got me no closer to graduation but a lot closer to publication.

So, in future, expect fewer posts about dorm life, class discussions, and microwave recipes (oh stove, how I've missed you!), and more about the business of writing and art. I hope you join me for the ride.