Love Letter To A Freelance Writer #3: Dropping Out Of College
This is one of a select batch of emails I sent to a group of writers I was coaching. I intend to publish the entirety of them as a collection, but I’ve released several “selections” in a three-part series, which you can view on my website here: https://www.michaeldelaguerra.com/loveletters
Dear reader,
When I dropped out of college at 19 to go to rehab, all I knew was I didn’t want to die. I remember sitting in a concrete courtyard, watching the older people suck cigarettes through gaps where teeth had once been, their bodies frail and tired, beaten down by years of drug addiction. They’d been in and out of rehabs and prisons their entire lives, now looking at the youngsters like me thinking to themselves, “If only I’d stopped when I was your age.”
Some of them took me under their wing and tried to protect me by warning me of what would happen if I continued down the path I was on. I was scared. I knew I didn’t want to be like them. So when I got out, I pursued life with a passion I never had before. I got a job in the music industry, and worked there until I got sick of it and ran away to a corner of the entertainment world here in LA where I was able to hide at a desk. All the while, I wrote.
I didn’t know what I was writing, or that I even wanted to be a writer; I just typed away. (I can’t read them now; they’re too cringey for me — can you relate?) Then I realized I couldn’t hide anymore, and decided to pursue writing more seriously. I did everything I could to turn it into a career, but there was a problem… I didn’t feel like a real writer. But that’s what was happening on the surface. We all have moments where we feel like imposters. This was something else. My entire life had been one big identity crisis, and I never felt like a “real” anything. I’d always felt like I never fit in anywhere, no matter what. And I went to great lengths to cover up these feelings, including shoving needles into my arm.
I was eventually able to turn writing into a career, and I’m going to share exactly how to do the same. But if you’ve ever felt like you’re not ready, let me be brutally honest with you: it doesn’t matter.
There are people who need to hear your story, and businesses that need you to help them communicate their message. You are doing them a disservice by keeping yourself trapped in the “one day” mindset. And just like those old addicts I observed in rehab, you may look back in a few decades and say, “If only I’d started sooner.”
Because who is a REAL writer? In my opinion, it’s someone who gets up every day, does the work, and writes.
So get busy :-)
- M
P.S. I always advise clients not to tell their whole story in one email, so… while there is a lot more to my story — because our lives are more complex than just a few highlighting moments — I’m choosing to share bits and pieces with you.
But if you have a question, please never hesitate to email me and ask :-)
This is one of a select batch of emails I sent to a group of writers I was coaching. I intend to publish the entirety of them as a collection, but I’ve released several “selections” in a three-part series over on my website at: https://www.michaeldelaguerra.com/loveletters
