Do You Consider Yourself a Writer?
Are you a writer?
I had an interesting conversation the other day. A barber was giving me a hair cut
“What do you do for a living?” he asked.
“I’m a writer,” I said.
His mouth arched into a smile, and a laugh that indicated excitement followed.
“Wow, that’s amazing!” he said. “I’ve never met such a young writer before.”
Normally, I would brush such uncomplimentary compliments aside (what does being a writer even mean?) but this man expressed his enthusiasm with an honest exhilaration that I could not ignore. His energy plagued my mind, and moments later, it created an imposter syndrome that manifested these thoughts:
What’s so amazing about being a writer?
Oh no, he thinks I write books.
I’m not a writer. I mean, I write words for a living but I’ve never written a book.
I am technically just a subscriber here on Medium. The income that sustains me comes from my ability to spill words out of my body and onto a page (okay, it’s a screen, but page sounds so much cooler). So by all definitions, I am a professional, though the only thing that means is that I make money from it.
But I don’t feel like a writer.
Some people I tell I’m a writer react with a passion that shadows a pressure on me that I can’t handle (like the radiologist). It’s as if my mental model of what I do is so detached from theirs. They think I’m a wise wizard who casts spells that produce the worlds in my mind. I don’t do that; I just write.
The funny thing is, I’m happy to give the title of “writer” to others on Medium. I just can’t handle labeling myself.
Whatever, I’m just going to write.
Just keep writing
