Photo Credit Jordan Aspen

I am a professional writer.

I’m not entirely sure when the professional bit came in… was it when I published my first poem twenty years ago? When I first got paid for something I wrote some years later?

Or was it when I finally embraced the concept of writing with a purpose?

Perhaps “professional” is less an official position and more a mindset. What if writing “for real” isn’t so much about pleasing an audience as spreading a message. Maybe it matters less how many people pay money and more how much I am willing to invest in myself.