Just Pay Your Bills for Now

By Will Eichler

I will be the first to admit that when I decided I wanted to be a writer, my initial dream was of writing a novel. I longed to create a world that people could get lost in, that people would love, that people laugh and cry at. I am not currently doing that. Yes, I have plenty of creative projects that I am working on, and working at Next Page Ink has granted me a great deal of help and inspiration as I continue to find my place in the world of creative writing. I was lucky enough to be accepted to the creative writing track of Towson University’s Professional Writing program, and I am thankful to have had a piece of mine published through a local writing contest. But most days I still do not feel like I have “made it” as a writer, or like I’m even on my way to that point. I’m not totally sure what it will actually take to feel like I have, maybe it will be getting a book published, maybe it will be getting a job at a big publishing company, or maybe I’ll never really feel like I’ve “made it,” it could be that “making it” is so abstract that it’s not really an attainable. I suppose eventually I will know, but right now, it’s all pretty unclear. For now, I am taking what writing work I can to make sure that I am able to pay my bills every month. It’s not exciting by any means, but it is better than working in retail or restaurants, especially considering we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. And even when I do get to the point of my life where I have my dream job, it will still be a job, I will still be working each day, and there will be days when it is tiring and days when I wish I didn’t have to do it, but I’ll still be paying my bills, and I can’t complain too much about that.