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Sunday, October 10, 2010
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~Maya Angelou
About three years ago, I saw an ad in a Parents magazine featuring a writing school, Institute of Children's Literature. It invited potential writers to enroll in their school (long-distance learning) and partake in a year-long course to learn how and become a published children's literature author. Part of the enrollment involved a selection process. This process included the submission of a sample of one's own writing. The piece submitted had to be a recount of a memory from one's own past. It could be happy, sad, tragic, embarrassing, or whatever. It just had to have so many words. So I submitted a "story." It was of a particular embarrassing memory from my past, to say the least. I got a response soon after I send in my submission. They liked my story, thought my strength in writing was of potential value and offered me a spot in their school. I was elated and scared at the same time. Elated because after 6 years of having been graduated from college, I finally realized that maybe I didn't waste all that time in school pursuing a writing degree after all. I did not want to be a journalist nor did I want to teach writing in school. I just wanted to write stories. But every time I sat down to write, I went round and round in circles, not knowing exactly how to start. I had always thought I needed to go back to school, because I wanted more training and the ad in the Parents magazine grabbed my attention. It not only offered the training but also guaranteed that one will be a published writer by the end of the course. I had done nothing to pursue this dream in the 6 years I was out of school so I was excited for this chance. But then, like most things that happen to me, I started to doubt. Not in myself as a writer, but in the validity of the school. They had send me all kinds of wonderful brochures with contact information to verify their credibility. They even had a few instructors call me. And I did some research online. But I'm a visual and hands on person and because I couldn't see and touch the school itself or meet an instructor in person, I couldn't help thinking that it could very well be a hoax. So far, I have not to this day found this place to be fake but I still haven't pursued it. Still to this day, they keep pursuing me (that kind of makes me feel good about it.) At this point in my life, I have chosen a completely different path. I'm a graduate of nursing school. Much of this decision has to do with the fact that I am a mother of a 5 year old child. I still want to become a published writer someday, but such a dream is unlikely to produce any concrete results sooner rather than later as would a nursing career. If only parenting weren't so expensive. Last I checked, most successful writers started out living pretty poorly. That would've been fine with me, if I were not a mother.
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