Stay Motivated

Well, I just had an opinion essay of mine published in The Seattle Times. Here is the link: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/oh-the-humanities-a-students-plea/. Suffice to say, this is pretty much the biggest thing that has ever happened to my writing, and maybe one of the more exciting moments in my life. And so, like an actor giving a motivational speech to the masses as they collect their Oscar (okay, maybe I am inflating my accomplishment a bit), I wish to share what I feel now and what I have felt in all my past work that has led up to this point, and how hard work can be validated. If there is any bit of wisdom I can take away from this and share, it is that success and recognition like this do not come when you expect them to. You can write and rewrite stories (or essays, in this case) to submit for competitions or for publications at magazines or newspapers. You can get feedback for days, write what you believe is a masterpiece, but it still might not work out exactly as you imagined it, because getting significant recognition for creative work IS REALLY HARD. The thing that all us writers need to realize, is that the competition is always going to be fierce, and there will always be writers out there better than we are. But that does not need to be demotivating. Savor every step of your improvement, treasure any and all positive feedback you can get, or moments like this where things seem to work out. But understand that there will always be more work to do, more improvements that can be made, and that should be FUN. If you cannot accept or get behind that, than writing may not be for you. But know this: if you put your everything in to something (and that something does not necessarily even need to be writing), chances are that you will see things get better for you, gain the respect of others, and generally feel better about yourself. Dedication and hard work can take you a long way, and moments like the one I am experiencing now are reminders of just how much these things can do for you. So don't lose faith. I don't expect to get another win like this for at least a little while, and that's ok. The wins wouldn't be special if they happened every day.