Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be a writer. I remember the days I spent alone as a child writing my own version of the comic books. I would spend hours writing dialogue and illustrating my proud pieces of work. I knew from then I would be a professional writer.

As I grew up, I still wrote and I still maintained my passion for writing. I was never the best writer, and my stories tended to lean towards the morose, but I still never let that stop me.

I decided that when I finally arrived at college I would be studying journalism. While this decision was not immediate, I realized that anything else would not be truly loved. Unfortunately, I was not the best student in the class. I received many orders from the professor to re-do my work. This was due to my procrastination, depression, and severe alcoholism at the time. Despite my attitude, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University.

My first interview was with The Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. The interview could not have gone worse and it would have been a great opportunity to start my career, but the fact that there needed to be armed guards present during business hours was not very appealing. I received a call from my interviewer three months later, but by then I had already accepted a position from Target as an overnight manager. It’s not that I really wanted to be a manager at Target, but I was in love with the fact that I would be making $47,000 a year. Compared to the $10 an hour at the Star Ledger was offering, it was not a bad deal.

I ended up leaving that job and moving down to Houston, Texas to work for a staffing company that my uncle owned. Like Target, I left that job as well. While staffing was not a dream job of mine, I was able to intern at a local magazine: H Texas Magazine. I was able to add some work to my portfolio, and a few lines to my resume.

After returning to New Jersey I decided that writing was no longer my passion. This left a major void in my life since I did not know what to be passionate about anymore. It was not until recently, after being laid off and taking a temporary position at Merrill lynch in the human resources department that my old flame for writing was rekindled.

                I recently have had an opinion piece published by the local paper, The Mirror, and I have submitted a few more pieces for publication in addition. I am happy to say that after a year of work, I am nearly finished with my children’s book, and I am actively working on a novel with my best friend’s mother. While I do not know what the future holds for me, or for the rest of the world for that matter, I will continue to write and submit my work for publication. And hopefully one day I will be able to call myself a professional writer after taking a long trip down the unknown and unpredictable road known as publication.