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My Journey to "Writer": Part 1

A two-part series on how I ended up writing for a living (and for fun too!)

By wanderlusterPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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My Journey to "Writer": Part 1
Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash

Chocolate taster. Veterinarian. World traveler. Communication auditor. These were just a few of my "dream" careers growing up and even into college. Now don't get me wrong, I would die to be a world traveler who samples chocolates for a living, but I've settled in nicely to my life as a writer. It's certainly not as whimsical, but it suits me perfectly.

Why I love writing

By Pereanu Sebastian on Unsplash

Writing is personal. It is the outpouring of all my creative ideas, written concisely (or not so concisely) for my boss, colleagues, friends, family, clients, and even you to read. It's how I express myself and infuse a bit of me into every single piece I write. What's not to love about that?

Sure, there are times when I abhor writing. I spent all weekend and most of today wondering what I could write about—I only have one word: infuriating. I struggled with writer's block for a solid hour last week. I was hung up on a single word—yep, one damn word—for hours. It's times like these when I want to throw my hands up, close the laptop, and start fantasizing about my life as a world traveler. But I don't.

I work through everything when it comes to writing because it's the best way to express who I am, and it brings me immense joy. Not the pure bliss you get from eating a dark chocolate Lindor truffle (which, trust me, is a lot), but the kind of joy that warms your soul, gives you shivers, and sends signals to every fiber of your being that scream, "This is what you were meant to do!" That all-encompassing happiness is why I live to write.

But, believe it or not, I wasn't always this passionate about writing. Writing was just what you did to complete your homework assignments or chat with friends on AIM (AOL instant messaging for all the young kids reading this). I didn't feel one way or another about it.

But I graduated from college and moved across the country, and something changed. Writing slowly became my life.

What I thought I wanted to do

By Alexis Brown on Unsplash

You already know what I wanted to be when I was a child, but as I took the traditional college route post-high school, I was forced to examine what I was passionate about and if that passion could be a sustainable career. I settled on communications.

The way people communicate has always fascinated me. How are some people so calm in trying times while others fall apart? Why did my mom respond to snarky comments with love and sarcasm, but my dad would raise his voice? Why did I go from not knowing how to shut up to being a total introvert? These questions helped foster my curiosity about communications and ultimately led me down the business communications track at university.

After countless classes on business, mass, and individual communications, I enrolled in a course about communication auditing. I had no idea what the hell that was, but only a few days in, and I was hooked.

Auditors, to my understanding, went into companies and observed how people communicated. How did the CEO interact with fellow execs or non-managerial employees? How did managers engage their employees? How did Tony talk with Sarah? They observed and then created surveys for everyone to complete. Communication auditors would then use the survey answers and their observations to input data and devise a plan to improve communication across the organization. Intriguing!

I worked with my professor to find an internship and connect with auditors to get more insights into communication auditing. We didn't get a single callback or email response... nothing. This was one of those jobs where you have to have experience to get hired, but you won't get experience unless you already have it. I was bummed.

But instead of flailing, trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with my life, I moved back home and got a job in customer service for a private aviation company.

We'll explore my journey from customer service rep to writer in the next post!

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About the Creator

wanderluster

Hi there, I’m Sheena. I'm an Ohio born and bred creative and old-school writer who prefers the smooth flow of ink on paper over the clickity-clack of typing on a keyboard. I love travel, typewriters, and doughnuts. Get my ebook!

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